Macroparticles on titanium nitiride thin film prepared by cathodic-arc plasma-based ion implantation and deposition

This article describes particles formed on a substrate when a cathodic arc is generated in nitrogen at pressure of 0.27 Pa for plasma-based ion implantation and deposition (PBII-D). After a titanium nitride (TiN) film was deposited and titanium and nitrogen ions were simultaneously implanted into the silicon substrate, macroparticles of TiN were observed on/in the deposited film. Most of these were less than 1 μm in size and were classified as spherical or non-spherical particles. The spherical particles were so-called droplets, while non-spherical particles were formed by crystal growth from the near-surface of the substrate. The latter was inferred to originate from nucleus precipitation due to the high-energy ion implantation. The number density and the shape of the non-spherical macroparticles changed to a great extent with the applied voltage and its waveform.