Ti(Si)N coatings were deposited on Si wafers via magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition technique. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to study the morphologies, grain size, and thicknesses of the different films. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the titanium nitride cubic phase. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to study the silicon and oxygen levels in the films, and high resolution XPS was used to determine the surface oxide to nitride ratios as well as the silicon–nitrogen environment. The hardness of these films was then determined with nanoindentation. It was shown that grain size and film density could be controlled by the Si level and the ion bombardment to eliminate the oxygen level in the nitride coatings, which led to the harder films. It was suggested that due to the miscibility of Si, a ternary TiSiN solid solution was formed. Stronger (200) orientation of the TiN B1-NaCl crystals was associated with increased hardness of the coatings. This crystalline structure was preserved after incorporating Si.
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September 2023
Research Article|
July 27 2023
Characterizing the composition, structure, and mechanical properties of magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition TiN and TiSiN coatings
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Functional Coatings
Gilad Zorn
;
Gilad Zorn
a)
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
GE Research, One Research Circle
, Niskayuna, New York 12309
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Joshua Salisbury;
Joshua Salisbury
(Methodology, Writing – review & editing)
1
GE Research, One Research Circle
, Niskayuna, New York 12309
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Jae-Hyuk Her
;
Jae-Hyuk Her
(Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing)
1
GE Research, One Research Circle
, Niskayuna, New York 12309
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Rachel Rose;
Rachel Rose
(Formal analysis)
1
GE Research, One Research Circle
, Niskayuna, New York 12309
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Patrick Shower
Patrick Shower
(Project administration, Writing – review & editing)
1
GE Research, One Research Circle
, Niskayuna, New York 12309
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a)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 41, 053106 (2023)
Article history
Received:
May 02 2023
Accepted:
June 29 2023
Citation
Gilad Zorn, Joshua Salisbury, Jae-Hyuk Her, Rachel Rose, Patrick Shower; Characterizing the composition, structure, and mechanical properties of magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition TiN and TiSiN coatings. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 1 September 2023; 41 (5): 053106. https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0002805
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