SYNTHESIS OF TITANIUM NITRIDE FILMS BY ION-BEAM-ENHANCED-DEPOSITION

Abstract Titanium nitride films have been prepared by simultaneous vacuum deposition of titanium from an electron gun evaporation source and nitrogen ion beam bombardment with an ion energy of 40 keV. The pressure of the target chamber during processing was 6.5 × 10 -4 Pa. The atomic arrival ratio of implanted nitrogen ions to deposited titanium atoms varied from 0 to 0.5. Rutherford backscattering analysis showed that nitrogen ion bombardment can apparently reduce the oxygen concentration in films. The component ratio N:Ti in films prepared at low temperature was greater than that in films prepared at high temperature. At the same atomic arrival ratio, the component ratio N:Ti in the film decreased with increasing titanium deposition rate. These facts are considered to arise from the situation that the composition in the films is strongly affected by the adsorption of nitrogen. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that films formed by ion-beam- enhanced deposition (IBED) were mainly composed of titanium nitride of NaCl- type structure. The mechanical properties of the films have been investigated. The titanium nitride films prepared by IBED exhibited high hardness on improved wear resistance. The adhesion of IBED titanium nitride films to the substrate was superior to that of films obtained by chemical or physical vapour deposition.