Growth of thin transparent titanium nitride layers by reactive laser ablation

Transparent and conductive thin layers of TiN have been grown on Coming glass and silicon substrates by the reactive pulsed laser deposition method. An excimer laser(KrF, lambda = 248 nm, 4.0 J/cm(2)) was used to ablate a massive, metallic Ti target in a N(2) atmosphere. Under optimised conditions, continuous polycrystalline films of fee TiN exhibiting a lattice parameter a = 0.4242 nm very close to the bulk value, an optical transmittance higher than 70% in the 350-1100 nm range, a flat morphology and an electrical conductivity around 550 mu Omega cm have been deposited at a substrate temperature of only 400 degrees C, The grown films also posses a good chemical and wear resistance as their properties have not changed after exposure to the ambient atmosphere for 6 months. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.