Texture development in titanium nitride films grown by low-energy ion assisted deposition

The development of the orientational order in thin titanium nitride films grown by low energy ion assisted titanium deposition at room temperature is studied. The preferred orientation and texture are measured in dependence on the ion energy, ion current density, angle of incidence and film thickness. The preferred orientation is changed from an {111} alignment of the TIN crystallites to the {100} orientation with increase of ion energy and ion current density. The film formation at ion bombardment under a specifically selected angle results in a totally fixed orientation or biaxial texture of the crystallites. The measurements show also that the {100} biaxial texture is changed to a {111} biaxial texture with increase of the film thickness. The texture evolution is discussed on the basis of the well-known models.