RBS analyses of xenon-irradiated Ti and TiN films

TiN films of 30–300 nm thickness, deposited onto stainless steel via magnetron sputtering, and 10 μm thick Ti foils were irradiated with 80–360 keV Xe⁺ ions at influences of φ = 10¹⁵–10¹⁷ ions/cm². The Xe content was depth-profiled by means of 900 keV He⁺⁺ Rutherford backscattering. Irradiations of films with a thickness exceeding the ion range (at 80 and 250 keV) led to saturation effects due to sputtering and outdiffusion from the near-surface region. The sputtering yields deduced at low Xe fluences were compared to calculations for mono-elemental and compound sputtering. Surface blistering was observed after 250 keV saturation implantation into Ti. For TiN layers with a thickness comparable to the ion range, precipitation of the mixing gas at the interface was observed which finally led to the destruction of the layers. The dependence of the Xe fraction accumulated in the interface is discussed in terms of thermal-spike calculations.