Thin films’ residual stress is often determined by the Stoney formula, using the measurements of the substrate curvature, even if the required hypotheses are not completely respected. In this study, a 2.2 µm titanium nitride coating was deposited by reactive sputtering on a silicon substrate. The Stoney formula was used in order to calculate the residual stress of the film. The radius of curvature was measured, before and after coating by optical profilometer, considering the whole surface of the sample. The effect of the substrate shape (square and rectangular) with various dimensions was investigated. We showed that the shape of the substrate influence strongly the deformation. Moreover, it was highlighted that the choice of the radius (maximum value, minimum value, mean value, with or without initial curvature correction) is critical to the determination of the stress.

Chromium thin films are prepared by magnetron sputtering using the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method. The electrical conductivity of the films exhibiting an inclined columnar structure is investigated. An analytical three-dimensional model is proposed in order to predict the evolution of the electrical conductivity as a function of the columns' orientation. This model is based on two types of electron scattering mechanisms, which are simultaneously operational: the isotropic background scattering at the grain boundary and the scattering due to electron dispersion at the column boundary. The developed analytical expressions enable systematic studies of different processes and film parameters, especially the column angle β as well as the sputtering pressure used during the GLAD deposition. The theoretical and experimental results are compared. It is found that the column angle β must reach a threshold value to significantly reduce the electrical conductivity of chromium thin films close to one order of magnitude. The effect of the sputtering pressure on the structure of films and their electrical behaviours are also studied and well predicted by the proposed model. Finally, a comprehensive discussion of the applicability of the model is presented.