Air-based deposition and processing windows of sputtered TiN, TiNxOy, and N-doped TiOx thin films

Air was employed as a reactive gas in the air/Ar gaseous mixture for sputtering to produce TiN, TiNxOy, and N-doped TiOx thin films. Air-based deposition conducted in a low-vacuum base pressure environment can reduce substantially the overall processing time. Processing windows of the aforementioned films prepared by the air-based deposition at different air contents and sputtering powers were determined. Tailoring the air content during sputtering yielded not only the single layer but the multilayer consisting of these different coatings. Kinetically-favorable reactions occur at low air contents in such plasma environment, leading to the formation of titanium nitride and oxynitride films while thermodynamically-controlled reactions predominate at higher air contents, yielding the formation of titanium oxide films. ► TiN, TiNxOy, and N-TiOx films were made by sputtering using the air/Ar mixture. ► Processing windows of the aforementioned films were determined. ► Air-based deposition reduced significantly the overall processing time. ► Kinetically-favorable reactions prevail at low air contents, yielding TiN and TiNxOy. ► Thermodynamically-governed reactions occur at higher air contents.