Nucleation kinetics versus nitrogen partial pressure during homoepitaxial growth of stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1): A scanning tunneling microscopy study

Marcel A. Wall; David G. Cahill; I. Petrov; D. Gall; J. E. Greene

doi:10.1016/j.susc.2005.03.007

Nucleation kinetics versus nitrogen partial pressure during homoepitaxial growth of stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1): A scanning tunneling microscopy study

Marcel A. Wall, David G. Cahill, I. Petrov, D. Gall, J. E. Greene

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We grow homoepitaxial stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1) layers by ultra-high vacuum reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/N₂ mixtures and use scanning tunneling microscopy to study nucleation as a function of the N₂ gas fraction fN2 and growth temperature T_s. The characteristic island size R_c necessary to nucleate a new layer decreases continuously with fN2, varying from 18.0 nm at T_s = 740 °C with f_N2 = 0.10 to 11.2 nm with fN2=1.00. Over the temperature range 600 ≤ T_s ≤ 860 °C, nucleation is diffusion limited with an activation energy E_s of 1.1 ± 0.1 eV for TiN(0 0 1) growth with fN2=0.10 and 1.4 ± 0.1 eV in pure N₂. We attribute the increase in E _s to a higher steady-state N coverage resulting in an increase in the average x-value of the primary surface-diffusing species, TiN_x admolecules.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	L122-L127
Journal	Surface Science
Volume	581
Issue number	2-3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2005.03.007
State	Published - May 1 2005

Keywords

Scanning tunneling microscopy
Surface diffusion
TiN
Titanium nitride

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Condensed Matter Physics
Surfaces and Interfaces

Online availability

10.1016/j.susc.2005.03.007

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title = "Nucleation kinetics versus nitrogen partial pressure during homoepitaxial growth of stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1): A scanning tunneling microscopy study",

abstract = "We grow homoepitaxial stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1) layers by ultra-high vacuum reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/N2 mixtures and use scanning tunneling microscopy to study nucleation as a function of the N2 gas fraction fN2 and growth temperature Ts. The characteristic island size Rc necessary to nucleate a new layer decreases continuously with fN2, varying from 18.0 nm at Ts = 740 °C with fN2 = 0.10 to 11.2 nm with fN2=1.00. Over the temperature range 600 ≤ Ts ≤ 860 °C, nucleation is diffusion limited with an activation energy Es of 1.1 ± 0.1 eV for TiN(0 0 1) growth with fN2=0.10 and 1.4 ± 0.1 eV in pure N2. We attribute the increase in E s to a higher steady-state N coverage resulting in an increase in the average x-value of the primary surface-diffusing species, TiNx admolecules.",

keywords = "Scanning tunneling microscopy, Surface diffusion, TiN, Titanium nitride",

author = "Wall, {Marcel A.} and Cahill, {David G.} and I. Petrov and D. Gall and Greene, {J. E.}",

note = "Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the US Department of Energy, Division of Materials Science, under grant no. DEFG02-96ER45439 through the University of Illinois Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) and the Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation. We also appreciate the use of the facilities in the FS-MRL Center for Microanalysis of Materials, partially supported by DOE.",

year = "2005",

month = may,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.susc.2005.03.007",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "581",

pages = "L122--L127",

journal = "Surface Science",

issn = "0039-6028",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Nucleation kinetics versus nitrogen partial pressure during homoepitaxial growth of stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1)

T2 - A scanning tunneling microscopy study

AU - Wall, Marcel A.

AU - Cahill, David G.

AU - Petrov, I.

AU - Gall, D.

AU - Greene, J. E.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the US Department of Energy, Division of Materials Science, under grant no. DEFG02-96ER45439 through the University of Illinois Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) and the Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation. We also appreciate the use of the facilities in the FS-MRL Center for Microanalysis of Materials, partially supported by DOE.

PY - 2005/5/1

Y1 - 2005/5/1

N2 - We grow homoepitaxial stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1) layers by ultra-high vacuum reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/N2 mixtures and use scanning tunneling microscopy to study nucleation as a function of the N2 gas fraction fN2 and growth temperature Ts. The characteristic island size Rc necessary to nucleate a new layer decreases continuously with fN2, varying from 18.0 nm at Ts = 740 °C with fN2 = 0.10 to 11.2 nm with fN2=1.00. Over the temperature range 600 ≤ Ts ≤ 860 °C, nucleation is diffusion limited with an activation energy Es of 1.1 ± 0.1 eV for TiN(0 0 1) growth with fN2=0.10 and 1.4 ± 0.1 eV in pure N2. We attribute the increase in E s to a higher steady-state N coverage resulting in an increase in the average x-value of the primary surface-diffusing species, TiNx admolecules.

AB - We grow homoepitaxial stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1) layers by ultra-high vacuum reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/N2 mixtures and use scanning tunneling microscopy to study nucleation as a function of the N2 gas fraction fN2 and growth temperature Ts. The characteristic island size Rc necessary to nucleate a new layer decreases continuously with fN2, varying from 18.0 nm at Ts = 740 °C with fN2 = 0.10 to 11.2 nm with fN2=1.00. Over the temperature range 600 ≤ Ts ≤ 860 °C, nucleation is diffusion limited with an activation energy Es of 1.1 ± 0.1 eV for TiN(0 0 1) growth with fN2=0.10 and 1.4 ± 0.1 eV in pure N2. We attribute the increase in E s to a higher steady-state N coverage resulting in an increase in the average x-value of the primary surface-diffusing species, TiNx admolecules.

KW - Scanning tunneling microscopy

KW - Surface diffusion

KW - TiN

KW - Titanium nitride

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JO - Surface Science

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ER -

Nucleation kinetics versus nitrogen partial pressure during homoepitaxial growth of stoichiometric TiN(0 0 1): A scanning tunneling microscopy study

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