INFLUENCE OF THE DEPOSITION PARAMETERS ON THE COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE AND X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON-SPECTROSCOPY SPECTRA OF TI-N FILMS

The composition, structure and electronic structure of Ti N films synthesized by the arc method have been studied by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron microscopy. Dependences of the film composition and structure on the deposition parameters (working gas pressure, potential and temperature of the substrate, cathode current) were obtained. Also established was the dependence of the binding energy changes of the Ti 2p and N 1s core electron levels and valence band on the nitrogen content in nitride films. With increasing nitrogen concentration, the XPS Ti 2p line was found to be chemically shifted toward higher binding energies (from 454.1 eV for titanium to 455.2 eV for TiN0.81), which provides evidence that, during TiN(x) formation, the positive effective charge on titanium atoms increases.