Substrate bias voltage and deposition temperature dependence on properties of rf-magnetron sputtered titanium films on silicon (100)

Abstract

Thin films or a coating of any sort prior to its application into real world has to be studied for the dependence of process variables on their structural and functional properties. One such study based on the influence of substrate conditions viz. substrate-bias voltage and substrate temperature on the structural and morphological properties, could be of great interest as far as Ti thin films are concerned. From X-ray texture pole figure and electron microscopy analysis, it was found that substrate bias voltage strongly influence preferential orientation and morphology of Ti films grown on Si (100) substrate. Deposition at higher substrate temperature causes the film to react with Si forming silicides at the film/Si substrate interface. Ti film undergoes a microstructural transition from hexagonal plate-like to round-shaped grains as the substrate temperature was raised from 300 to 50 °C during film deposition.