We studied the properties of (Nb_(0.7), Ti_(0.3))N films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering in an atmosphere of argon and nitrogen at ambient substrate temperature, with a particular focus on the technological factors that determine film texture. The texture in the nitrides of transition metals determines many processes, including the wear resistance of tool coatings, diffusion in microelectronic devices, and the rate of chemical etching. Thus, since our goal is to use (Nb_(0.7), Ti_(0.3))N films in superconducting microelectronic devices, texture control is an essential element of our technology. We find that increasing the total gas pressure, while keeping the film chemical composition constant, results in a decrease in the ratio of the 200 and 111 x-ray diffraction (XRD) line intensities on Θ-2Θ Bragg-Brentano scans. Similar changes in XRD patterns are observed as the nitrogen injection increases for a constant sputtering pressure. In addition, XRD examination shows that some samples have in-plane texture developed due to self-shadowing during growth. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that all of the films consist of textured, elongated grains. Analyzing the experimental data, it is concluded that the thermalization of the sputtering yield determines the process of texture formation in the experiment with pressure variation, with an increase in adatom energy resulting in a change in texture from 111 to 100. However, adatom energy is not the only determining factor-the nitrogen concentration in the sputtering gas also has a strong impact on the film texture. In particular, despite the fact that an increase in nitrogen injection results in an increase in adatom energy, the film texture is driven toward 111.
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