EFFECT OF NITRIDATION RATE ON THE COMPOSITION AND CONDUCTIVITY OF TITANIUM NITRIDE FILMS PREPARED FROM SOL-GEL TITANIA

Nitridation of TiO2 films in NH3 was studied as a function of heating rate by N-14(alpha, alpha)N-14 and O-16(alpha, alpha)O-16 nuclear resonance, Auger depth profiling, X-ray diffraction, and electrical conductivity measurements. TiN films containing minimal amount of oxygen and exhibiting the lowest resistivity were obtained when the fastest nitridation rate (70-degrees-C/min) was used. Nitridation at slower rates not only increased the film-oxygen content and electrical resistivity but also produced an oxygen concentration gradient across the film.