In-situ electrical characterization of ultrathin TiN films grown by reactive dc magnetron sputtering on SiO2

Abstract Ultrathin TiN films were grown by reactive dc magnetron sputtering on thermally oxidized Si (100) substrates. The electrical resistance of the films was monitored in-situ during growth in order to determine the minimum thickness of a continuous film. The coalescence thickness has a minimum of 1 nm at a growth temperature of 400 °C after which it increases with growth temperature. The minimum thickness of a continuous film decreases with increasing growth temperature from 2.9 nm at room temperature to 2.2 nm at 650 °C. In-situ resistivity measurements show that films grown at 500 °C and above are resistant to oxidation indicating high density. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements show that the TiN grain stoichiometry and grain size increases with increasing growth temperature.