Structural and Morphological Changes In Ag:TiN Nanocomposite Films promoted by in-vacuum annealing

Thin films composed of titanium nitride doped with silver were deposited by DC reactive sputtering, with Ag contents varying between 0 and 50 at.%. The as-deposited samples were subjected to vacuum annealing treatments, with a range of temperatures varying from 200 to 500°C, in order to study the morphological and structural changes that may occur. The as-deposited samples showed three main zones of basic characteristics, which differ both in terms of the morphology and structural features. With the increase of the annealing temperature, the thermodynamic stability was accelerated, revealing a phenomenon of dispersion of silver particles at 200 °C and the start of its segregation at 300 °C. At 400 °C, the coalescence of the segregated Ag particles begins, while at 500 °C the formation of large clusters of Ag is glaring, particularly in the samples with higher Ag content. In addition, and corroborating the To whom all correspondence should be sent ([email protected])