Influence of additional UV-light illumination on preparation of TiN by ion beam assisted deposition

Titanium nitride films were prepared by a newly developed photon and ion beam assisted deposition system at room temperature. Titanium was deposited on Si(111) in a controlled nitrogen environment and simultaneously bombarded with low-energy N ions or illuminated with UV-light. The influence of UV-light illumination during deposition is compared with the influence of ion bombardment on film properties like structure, topography and composition, measured by XRD, AFM and ERD, respectively. The results demonstrate that photon assisted deposition (PHAD) is also a good method to modify film characteristics like ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD).