Effects of Ion Species on Reactive-Ion-Beam-Sputtered Zr-N Films

Thin films of Zr-N have been prepared by reactive ion-beam sputtering of a Zr target. Two kinds of ion species, Ar ions and nitrogen ions, were used for sputtering. The film structure, composition of film, and electrical and optical properties of Zr-N films were examined to compare the Zr-N films sputtered by nitrogen ion beam with those sputtered by Ar-ion beam in a nitrogen atmosphere. Semitransparent and highly resistive Zr-N films, which had different properties from stoichiometric ZrN films, were obtained when a Zr target was sputtered by a N-ion beam, whereas gold-colored Zr-N films, whose properties were similar to those of ZrN, were obtained by Ar-ion beam sputtering in a nitrogen atmosphere. It was found that the properties of the Zr-N films strongly depend on the ion species used for sputtering.