Magnetron sputter deposition of TiB x thin films from a TiB 2 target typically results in highly
overstoichiometric films due to differences in sputtered-atom ejection angles and gas-phase
scattering during transport to the substrate. This study investigates the effects of the
magnetron magnetic field strength at the substrate position and the Ar sputtering pressure
on the resulting film composition and crystalline quality. It is shown that the B/Ti atomic ratio
can be reduced from 2.7 to 2.1 by increasing the Ar pressure from 5 mTorr to 20 mTorr, a …