Variation of Color in Zirconium Nitride Thin Films Prepared by Reactive DC Magnetron Sputtering

This study is to evaluate a color variation of the zirconium nitride thin film, prepared from deposition technique of different N2 flow rates, ranging from 0.0 to 3.0 sccm, whereas the Ar flow rate is fixed at 3 sccm. The thin film was deposited on an unheated silicon wafer (100) via a reactive DC magnetron sputtering. The deposition current and deposition time were 0.6 A and 15 minutes, respectively. In the study, colors of film were changed from silver, gold, dark brown, brown, purple, pink to blue, when N2 flow rate further increase. Interestingly, the results indicate that gold color occurs in a very small interval of N2 flow rate.