Comparative study of structural and stoichiometric properties of titanium nitride films deposited by cathodic cage plasma deposition and magnetron sputtering

In this study, the structural and stoichiometric properties of titanium nitride films deposited by cathodic cage plasma deposition (CCPD) and DC magnetron sputtering (MS) are compared. Both of these systems are widely used to deposit TiN films, and this work can be used to decide which technique is more suitable in the processing parameters window, depending upon the required application of the film. The films are deposited for 2 and 4 h in both systems, using various cathodic cage configurations in CCPD and various currents in MS. The XRD pattern of CCPD films shows the presence of TiN, Ti2N phases, with a strong dependence on the processing conditions, and no preferred orientation is observed. The MS deposited films show the TiN phase formation with preferred (111) orientation. The films deposited by MS are more homogeneous and have less roughness than CCPD films. The stoichiometry of films deposited by CCPD is highly sensitive to the processing conditions (significant variation from stoichiometry), and a fine-tuning of control parameters is compulsory to obtain the stoichiometric film. In contrast, films deposited by MS are stoichiometric or show a small deviation from stoichiometry. This study suggests that if the stoichiometry of films is the main concern, the MS technique is more favorable, whereas, for mechanical properties (due to better adhesion of film on metallic substrates due to diffusion process) and decorative coatings (due to different color shades by tuning stoichiometry of film), CCPD is a good choice.