AVS 50th International Symposium
    Advanced Surface Engineering Monday Sessions
       Session SE-MoA

Paper SE-MoA2
Metrology of 1-10 nm Thick CNx Films: Thickness, Density and Surface Roughness Measurements

Monday, November 3, 2003, 2:20 pm, Room 323

Session: Hard Coatings: Preparation, Properties, Wear, and Nanotribology
Presenter: Y.W. Chung, Northwestern University
Authors: D.J. Li, Northwestern University,Tianjin Normal University
Y. Chen, Northwestern University
Y.W. Chung, Northwestern University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Ultrathin nitrogenated carbon (CNx) films were synthesized using pulsed dc magnetron sputtering. The influence of substrate tilt angle and rotation speed on surface roughness was explored. Atomic force microscopy studies showed that the smoothest films were obtained at substrate tilt of 45 and rotation speed 20-25 rpm, corresponding to 2-3 rotations per deposited atomic layer. The root-mean-square surface roughness under these optimum conditions is ~0.3 nm when sampled over 2020 m2 areas, increasing to ~0.4 nm when sampled over ~0.053 cm2 using x-ray reflectivity measurements. In addition, x-ray reflectivity measurements showed that the mass density of these CNx films is ~2.0 gm/cc, independent of film thickness from ~1 to 10 nm, consistent with ion beam analysis.