Polycrystalline vanadium nitrides thin films were deposited onto (100)-oriented silicon wafers by reactive dc planar magnetron sputtering. The influence of the nitrogen gas flow (from 0 to 15 sccm) was studied. Several substrate temperatures were investigated: 150, 400 and 650 degrees C. Analytical techniques including X-ray diffraction and reflectivity, atomic force microscopy and optical photospectrometry were used to characterize the structure, the morphology and the optical properties of the films. The measured thickness indicates that the deposition rate is decreased (from 3.5 angstrom for 0 sccm to 1.5 angstrom for 15 sccm) with increasing nitrogen gas flow. Obtained structures depend on the substrate temperature. The structure of pure vanadium (0 sccm) varies from amorphous phase at 150 and 400 degrees C to alpha-V phase at 650 degrees C. The films crystallize dominantly in beta-V2N1-x phase at low nitrogen gas flows and in delta-VN1-x phase at high nitrogen gas flows. The as-deposited VN films were highly textured. The texture seems to depend on the nitrogen gas flow. The root mean square (rms) derived from atomic force microscopy (AFM) varies with the nitrogen gas flow. The optical reflectivity of VN films shows high values in the infrared region. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.