We have investigated the influence of N-2 addition to the Ar sputtering gas on the crystal orientation of sputtered Ru films. An rf magnetron sputtering apparatus with a Ru target (99.9%) and a glass substrate heated to 100 degrees C or 300 degrees C was used for the deposition. The crystal structure, chemical composition and electrical properties of the resultant films were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the dominant orientation at 0% N-2 to be the c-axis. With increasing proportion of N-2 in the sputtering gas at a substrate temperature of 100 degrees C, the intensity of the (002) peak decreased, finally disappearing at 50% N-2. This c-axis-suppressed Ru film sputtered at 50% N-2 was found to contain nitrogen by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), but by annealing the film in vacuum at 400 degrees C, the nitrogen in the film was completely removed. The film orientation remained the same as before annealing. Thus, we have demonstrated a new method for depositing Ru films with a controlled preferential orientation of either c-axis oriented or c-axis suppressed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.