Direct measurement of the nitrogen content by XPS in self‐passivated TaN x thin films

The nitrogen content in tantalum nitride (TaN x ) thin films, where x indicates that TaN x is not generally stoechiometric, can be measured directly by XPS. This is the purpose of the present study. However, the XPS spectra of TaN x present electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) peaks that lead to a complex peak fitting, particularly for self‐passivated thin films. A complete peak fitting procedure based upon Tougaard's background, the Doniach‐Sunjic Function and EELS peaks, is presented. It is applied to two self‐passivated TaN x thin films elaborated by reactive sputtering and presenting a different nitrogen content. The physical properties of these surfaces are interpreted in terms of Ta 4f 7/2 chemical states directly dependent on the nitrogen content. The main results are discussed and improvements are proposed to the method.