Effect of Substrate Bias Voltage on the Properties of Hafnium Nitride Films Deposited by Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering Assisted by Inductive Coupled Nitrogen Plasma

Hafnium nitride (HfN) thin films were deposited onto a silicon substrate by inductive coupled nitrogen plasma-assisted radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The films were prepared without intentional substrate heating and a substrate negative bias voltage ($-V_b$) was varied from -50 to -150 V to accelerate the effects of nitrogen ions ($N^+$) on the substrate. X-ray diffractometer patterns showed that the structure of the films was strongly affected by the negative substrate bias voltage, and thin film crystallization in the HfN (100) plane was observed under deposition conditions of -100 $V_b$ (bias voltage). Atomic force microscopy results showed that surface roughness also varied significantly with substrate bias voltage. Films deposited under conditions of -150 $V_b$ (bias voltage) exhibited higher hardness than other films.