AVS 51st International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Monday Sessions
       Session PS-MoP

Paper PS-MoP13
Investigation on the Plasma Parameters and the Properties of the Reactively Sputtered Titanium Oxynitride Thin Films

Monday, November 15, 2004, 5:00 pm, Room Exhibit Hall B

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: A. Karuppasamy, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
Authors: A. Karuppasamy, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
A. Subrahmanyam, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
Correspondent: Click to Email
The titanium oxynitride thin films were prepared by reactive dc magnetron sputtering of metallic titanium using a gas mixture of argon, oxygen, and nitrogen. The Argon and nitrogen flow rates were kept constant while the oxygen flow rate was varied .The target was sputtered with a constant current density of 90 Am @super-2@. The films were deposited on quartz and glass substrates, kept at a constant temperature of 573K. The in situ plasma discharge diagnostics were done by optical emission spectroscopy(OES)and Langmuir probe.The emission signal was detected by a miniature fiber optic spectrometer (Ocean Optics SD 2000) coupled with a quartz fiber in the spectral region from 350 nm to 850 nm. Emission lines of different species of titanium, nitrogen and oxygen were analyzed. The plasma parameters like the plasma potential, electron temperatures, plasma density and the ion energy distribution function (IEDF) were measured using Langmuir probe. The crystallographic structure and composition were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and RBS.The temperature dependent electrical conductivity measurements in the range 10 K to 300 K shows an increase in the activation energy with increase in the oxygen content of the films. The index of refraction, extinction coefficient and thickness of the films were measured using a phase modulated spectroscopic ellipsometer in the energy range 1.65 - 3.1 eV. The transparent films were analyzed with Sellmeier dispersion relation while the semi-transparent films with Cauchy polynomial function. With increase in the oxygen flow rate, a sharp increase in the refractive index is observed. The optical transmittance spectra of the films were measured in the energy range 0.56 to 5.61 eV.The carrier concentration and mobility were estimated by low temperature(10 K) Hall measurements.Work function of the films were measured by contact potential method using the kelvin probe.The plasma conditions required for a high quality film will be discussed.