Formation of TiN phase in SiO2 and Si through ion implantation of constituent elements

An amorphous SiO2 substrate and a monoclinic Si substrate were co-implanted with Ti+ and N+ at room temperature. Energies of the Ti+ and N+ were chosen to provide nearly overlapping depth profiles. TEM was used to characterise the ion-implanted materials, and a TiN phase was found in both. Predictions of the formation of equilibrium binary phases in both substrates, from thermodynamic calculations based upon the SOLGASMIX program, agreed with experimental findings. 10 refs.