Abstract
Reactively magnetron sputtered TiN films were deposited on Si wafers under varying bias voltage and characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and Nanoindentation. The films deposited under an Ar + $N_2$ atmosphere exhibited a mixed (200)-(111) orientation with a strong (200) texture, which subsequently changed to a strong (111) texture with increasing bias voltage. The changes in texture and grain size of the TiN thin films are due to one or a combination of factors such as strain energy, surface free energy, surface diffusivity and adatom mobility. The influence of each factor depends on the processing conditions. The average deposition rate and grain size were calculated from FE-SEM images of the films indicating that the deposition rate was lower at the films deposited under bias voltage.