TiN films were deposited onto a glass substrate by DC facing target sputtering, and the effects of N2 flow rate on the film properties were investigated. Prepared TiN films had a rock salt (NaCl-type) structure with a very low resistivity (~30 μΩ·cm) and gold-like color. Increase in the N2 flow rate played an important role in controlling the properties of TiN films, such as Ti/N ratio and growth orientation. The growth orientation changed from a (111) phase to (200), with the ratio of N/Ti becoming near stoichiometric. The change in the growth orientation was caused by the
increase in the N2 flow rate, which weakens the kinetic energy of the bombarding particles. The observed phenomenon is explained by an energy loss in the reactive plasma due to the difference in the inner degree of freedom of the molecular gas causing the reduction in the effective energy for radicals.