Abstract: Copper nitride thin film was deposited on glass substrates by reactive DC (direct current) magnetron sputtering at a 0.5 Pa N2 partial pressure and different substrate temperatures. The as-prepared film, characterized with X-Ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, showed a composed structure of Cu3N crystallites with anti-ReO3 structure and a slight oxidation of the resulted film. The crystal structure and growth rate of Cu3N films were affected strongly by substrate temperature. The preferred crystalline orientation of Cu3N films were (111) and (200) at RT, 100℃. These peaks decayed at 200℃ and 300℃ only Cu (111) peak was noticed. Growth of Cu3N films at 100℃ is the optimum substrate temperature for producing high-quality (111) Cu3N films. The deposition rate of Cu3N films estimated to be in range of 18–30 nm/min increased while the resistivity and the microhardness of Cu3N films decreased when the temperature of glass substrate increased.

Key words: DC magnetron sputtering, Copper nitride thin film, Resistivity, Microhardness