Annealing studies of TiN films deposited by plasma-assisted CVD

Titanium nitride films prepared by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) on high speed steel were heated in the range of 1073–1373 K. The samples were analyzed by microhardness, XRD, EDX, SEM and XPS. It was found that the annealing temperatures had significant effects on the composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of the films. The chlorine content and lattice parameters of the films were reduced with the rise of the annealing temperature. The microhardness of the films had a minimal value at the annealing temperature of 1173 K. These results were interpreted in terms of the changes of microstructures of the PACVD TiN films.