Microstructural characterizations of magnetron sputtered Ti films on glass substrate

Magnetron sputtered Ti thin films deposited on glass substrates under varying deposition parameters were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. The textures of the Ti films characterized by X-ray diffraction revealed the initial (1 0 0) preferred orientation but it transformed in to (0 0 2) and (1 0 1) orientation with increase in sputtering power and substrate temperature, respectively. The preferred orientations of (0 0 2) and (1 0 1) were observed for the films deposited with the sputtering pressure of 5 mTorr and 20 mTorr, respectively. The average surface roughness of the Ti films showed an increasing trend with power, pressure, and temperature from the Atomic Force Microscopy analysis. The dense film morphology was observed in the Scanning Electron Microcopy images of Ti thin films deposited with higher substrate temperature (500 °C). X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the grain size of the Ti thin films exhibits an increasing trend with varying deposition parameters.