Research on Infrared Emissivity and Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness of TiCuN Films

To reduce the infrared emissivity and enhance the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of TiN films, Cu doping was employed to optimize the film composition. TiCuN films were prepared via reactive magnetron cosputtering with Cu sputtering powers of 20, 40, and 80 W. The results showed that at a Cu sputtering power of 20 W, Cu atoms dissolved into TiN lattice, inducing lattice distortion, which increased the resistivity and infrared emissivity, and degraded the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of the films. When the Cu sputtering power was raised to 40 W, some Cu nanoparticles existed in TiCuN films, forming conductive pathways. Consequently, the resistivity of the films decreased significantly, the infrared emissivity was reduced to about 0.09, and the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness was improved to nearly 40 dB. When the Cu sputtering power was 80 W, Cu became the predominant crystalline phase, and the pores distributed among the particles disrupted the continuity of Cu‐conductive pathways, leading to an increase in both resistivity and infrared emissivity, and a decrease in shielding effectiveness. The results indicate that adding Cu to TiN films by cosputtering at a Cu sputtering power of 40 W effectively reduces infrared emissivity and enhances electromagnetic shielding performance of the films.