Properties of TiN obtained by N2+-implantation on Ti-coated Si wafers

Titanium nitride films have been prepared by implanting 3.4 X 1017 cm -2 N2+ ions in 600-A-thick titanium layers deposited on silicon single crystals. Unlike the films obtained by evaporation or sputtering, both low electrical resistivity and fairly good optical properties were found even in the as-implanted samples. Moreover, thermal treatments up to 700 DC performed both in vacuum and H2 atmosphere resulted in a further improvement of the overall films characteristics. This opens interesting perspectives of applications for TiN as a transparent (antireflective) conducting material in photovoltaic field, which are presently being investigated.