Morphology of sputtered titanium nitride thin films on thermoplastic polymers

The morphology of titanium nitride (TiN) thin films on poly(butylene terephthalate) and polyamide-6,6 was studied. The thin films were deposited on the polymer substrates by magnetron sputter ion plating (MSIP) with a thickness of about 1.5 mu m. The morphology of the coatings was visualized by scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the polymer substrates on the deposition process and the morphology is demonstrated. The difference between the deposition processes on spin-coated substrates and bulk substrates is discussed. It could be shown that thin films of TiN on thermoplastic polymer substrates deposited by MSIP exhibit microstructures comparable to those on metals. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.