This paper presents a modification to conventional magnetron sputtering systems. The introduction of grid in front of the target increases metal ion ratio. By using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and observing both Ti neutrals and Ti ions, the relative fraction of ion could be qualitatively extended to grid-attached magnetron sputtering as compared with the conventional magnetron system. And, experimental results clearly demonstrated that a smooth and dense TiN film with a specular reflecting surface and could be produced by grid-attached magnetron with much increased Ti ion fractions as compared to conventional magnetron. From the potentiodynamic polarization test, it was shown that the corrosion current density of TiN deposited by two grid-attached magnetron sputtering was lower than that of TiN deposited by conventional magnetron sputtering. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.