Properties of TiN Films Fabricated by Oblique Angle Deposition

Oblique angle deposition (OAD) is a physical vapor deposition where incident vapor flux arrives at non-normal angles. It has been known that tilting the substrate changes the properties of the film, which is thought to be a result of morphological change of the film. In this study, OAD has been applied to prepare single and multilayer TiN films by cathodic arc deposition. TiN films have been deposited on cold-rolled steel sheets and stainless steel sheet. The deposition angle as well as substrate temperature and substrate bias was changed to investigate their effects on the properties of TiN films. TiN films were analyzed by color difference meter, scanning electron microscopy, nanoindenter and x-ray diffraction. The color of TiN films was not much changed according to the deposition conditions. The slanted and zigzag structures were observed from the single and multilayer films. The relation between substrate tilting angle (${\alpha}$) and the growth column angle (${\beta}$) followed the equation of $tan{\alpha}=2tan{\beta}$. The indentation hardness of TiN films deposited by OAD was low compared with the ones prepared at normal angle. However, it has been found that $H^3/E^2$ ratio of 3-layer TiN films prepared at OAD condition was a little higher than the ones prepared at normal angle, which can confirm the robustness of prepared films.