Methods of Making Gold Nitride

摘要

A method of treating a gold film to form gold nitride is proposed, which includes the steps of: generating a nitrogen plasma with a radio frequency field and a power of less than or equal to about 2 kW; and treating said gold film with said nitrogen plasma. The method can be carried out using commercially available apparatus such as an etching machine. The radio frequency field is preferably between 10 and 17 MHz, and the power used to generate the nitrogen plasma is preferably less than or equal to 300 W. The gold film may be biased to achieve directional attack of the plasma. A further method of forming gold nitride is proposed which includes the step of sputtering from a gold target with a nitrogen plasma to form a film of gold nitride on a substrate.