The effect of nitrogen plasma on copper thin film deposited by DC magnetron sputtering

The copper nitride (Cu3N) thin films are obtained under the influence of the copper thin films to nitrogen plasma in different conditions. The copper thin films are deposited on Si (100) substrates at a fixed condition by means of the DC magnetron sputtering and then are exposed to low temperature nitrogen plasma. The effects of nitrogen plasma on the structure, morphology, hardness, electrical and optical properties of copper thin films are investigated in various time durations. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirms that by increase of time duration, the copper phase disappears and the copper nitride phases are detected while the roughness of the films reduces.