Surface partition of ion energy during the growth of TiNx thin films

A simple evaluation of ion-deposited energy during surface displacement of adatoms has been presented for physical vapor deposition technology using an appropriate interaction model. The rf reactive magnetron sputtering deposition of titanium nitride (TiN_x) thin films was taken as evidence supporting the theoretical calculation. The evolution of crystallite morphology dependent on bias (or input power) illustrates that surface and subsurface microstructure of growing films can be optimized by increasing the mobility of adatoms through ion-assistance.