Effect of Ion Energy on the Microstructure and Properties of Titanium Nitride Thin Films Deposited by High Power Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

Titanium nitride (Ti-N) thin films are electrically and thermally conductive and have high hardness and corrosion resistance. Dense and defect-free Ti-N thin films have been widely used in the surface modification of cutting tools, wear resistance components, medical implantation devices, and microelectronics. In this study, Ti-N thin films were deposited by high power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) and their plasma characteristics were analyzed. The ion energy of Ti species was varied by adjusting the substrate bias voltage, and its effect on the microstructure, residual stress, and adhesion of the thin films were studied. The results show that after the introduction of nitrogen gas, a Ti-N compound layer was formed on the surface of the Ti target, which resulted in an increase in the Ti target discharge peak power. In addition, the total flux of the Ti species decreased, and the ratio of the Ti ions increased. The Ti-N thin film deposited by HPPMS was dense and defect-free. When the energy of the Ti ions was increased, the grain size and surface roughness of the Ti-N film decreased, the residual stress increased, and the adhesion strength of the Ti-N thin film decreased.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TiN/Ti2AlN Multilayers

“…A 200-nm Ti interlayer, deposited by DCMS at 500 W, was introduced to improve the adherence of the multilayers to their substrate. The TiN deposition parameters were the same as those used in our previous work [6], and the Ti and AlN deposition parameters and vacuum annealing process were identical to that of our previous work [12]. For comparison, a 360 nm monolithic TiN thin film was fabricated with the same deposition parameters.…”

“…During the TiN thin film deposition by HPPMS, ion bombardment creates compressive residual stress [5], which affects the adherence of TiN thin films to a substrate [6] and reduces the wear and corrosion resistance of films [7]. Introducing a Ti layer to form a Ti/TiN multilayer reduces the compressive residual stress and improves the adherence strength of thin films, which is ascribed to the plastic deformation of Ti [8].…”

Structure, phase evolution and properties of Ta films deposited using hybrid high-power pulsed and DC magnetron co-sputtering

“…All the substrates were ultrasonically cleaned with acetone and alcohol for 10 min, dried with compressed air, and mounted on a substrate holder which was supplied a rotation speed of 10 r/min and a negative DC bias of 60 V for dominating the direction and energy of the deposit to the substrate and improving film uniformity. [2,21,22] The crystal structures of Ta films were investigated by xray diffraction (XRD) by using Rigaku SmartLab 9 kW with Cu Kα radiation in grazing incidence (GIXRD, 0.5 • ). The surface and cross-section of Ta films were detected by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) by using ZEISS sigma 500 (Zeiss, Germany) with BRUKER XFlash 6130.…”

Preparation and Performance of a Cr/CrN/TiAlCN Composite Coating on a GCr15 Bearing Steel Surface

“…With its level 1 and 2 peeling, the coating had excellent bonding performance. However, when the sputtering power of the target material exceeded a certain value, the energy of the ionized particles increased, leading to an increase in the substrate temperature, an increase in lattice defects in the coating, relaxation of internal stress, decreased adhesion, and decreased bonding performance [23], as shown in Figure 5g. Figure 6 presents a schematic diagram of the microhardness of the coatings.…”