Influence of annealing temperature on the microstructure and morphology of TiN films synthesized by dual magnetron sputtering

TiN films synthesized on leucosapphire substrates by dual magnetron sputtering have been annealed in vacuum at 600, 700, 800, and 900$^{\circ}$C for 2 min. The microstructure and morphology of the films have been studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy at different temperatures. It has been found that annealing changes the microstructure, texture, grain size, and surface roughness of the TiN films.