Phase transformation of tungsten films deposited by diode and inductively coupled plasma magnetron sputtering

The phase transition behavior of tungsten thin films deposited using diode and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) magnetron sputtering was studied. The grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), scanning electron microscopy and transition electron microscopy were used to study the effects of various deposition parameters on the transition of the film's phase. It was found that films deposited by diode sputtering were mainly dominated by β-W, which yielded electrical resistivity ranging from ∼50 to ∼190 μω. On the other hand, the ICP sputtering was capable of depositing α-W films with resistivity of only ∼20 μω using adequate substrate bias.