Growth of Epitaxial TiN (111) Thin Films with Low Resistivity on Si (111) by Crossed-Beam Pulsed Laser Deposition

Titanium nitride (TiN) thin films were grown epitaxially on Si (111) substrates by reactive pulsed laser deposition. Substrate temperatures ranged from 550 to 950 degrees C while plume kinetic energies ranged from 46 to 154 eV. Quality of the grown films depended strongly on kinetic energy of the films than the growth temperatures. High quality film was grown at 750 degrees C with a laser plume kinetic energy of similar to 92 eV. Full width at half maximum for a omega-scan around the TiN (111) peak and a phi-scan through the TiN (002) peak were 0.3 degrees and 0.43 degrees, respectively. The resistivity of the films was increased with increased temperatures and a room temperature resistivity of 3.8 mu Omega-cm was obtained.