Morphology of TiN thin films grown on SiO2 by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Thin TiN films were grown on SiO₂ by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) at a range of temperatures from 45 to 600 °C. The film properties were compared to films grown by conventional dc magnetron sputtering (dcMS) at similar conditions. Structural characterization was carried out using X-ray diffraction and reflection methods. The HiPIMS process produces denser films at lower growth temperature than does dcMS. Furthermore, the surface is much smoother for films grown by the HiPIMS process. The 200] grain size increases monotonically with increased growth temperature, whereas the size of the 111] oriented grains decreases to a minimum for a growth temperature of 400 °C after which it starts to increase with growth temperature. The 200] crystallites are smaller than the 111] crystallites for all growth temperatures. The grain sizes of both orientations are smaller in HiPIMS grown films than in dcMS grown films.