AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Thin Film Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuP

Paper TF-TuP19
Comparative Study on Super-Hardcoating Materials between Ti@sub x@W@sub y@N and Ti@sub x@Al@sub y@Si@sub z@N Deposited by Reactive Co-Sputtering

Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 6:00 pm, Room 3rd Floor Lobby

Session: Thin Film Poster Session
Presenter: M. Yamaguchi, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
Authors: M. Yamaguchi, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
A. Miyamura, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
K. Hattori, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan
T. Aoki, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
Y. Sato, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
Y. Shigesato, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
Correspondent: Click to Email
TiN@sub x@ is one of the most promising materials for hardcoating technology. Nowadays we can make them more specialized properties (i.e.; harder, higher melting point, and chemically more stable) by adding some metal elements like Al, Si, W, Cr, etc. The purpose of this study is to present a comparative analysis on nano-structure and mechanical properties of Ti-W-N and Ti-Al-Si-N films, which were deposited by co-sputtering using Ti, W or Ti, Al, Si targets, respectively. The microstructure, phase and chemical composition of films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Electron Prove Micro Analysis (EPMA). Nano-indentation equipped with Nano Intdentation Tester with Berkovich diamond was used to measure the hardness and Young's modulus along the depth of the films. It was clarified that Ti-W-N films consisted of nanocrystalline TiN@sub x@ and WN@sub x@ phase, whereas Ti-Al-Si-N films consisted of nanocrystalline TiN@sub x@ in an amorphous a-SiN@sub x@ matrix. Ti-W-N films showed hardness of 21-23 GPa depending on the compositions, whereas Ti-Al-Si-N films performed much larger hardness of 32GPa. Deposition rate of the Ti-W-N films decreased with increase in rf substrate bias power. Furthermore, concentration of Ti in the film slightly decreased with increasing rf substrate bias power, which could be attributed to the re-sputtering of Ti atoms by the Ar@super+@ ion bombardment. Average roughness (Ra) of the film surface estimated from AFM images decreased from 5.9nm to 1.3nm with the increase in the rf bias power applied on the substrate holder from 0 to 100W, which could be attributed to the secondary nucleation enhancement by the ion bombardment during the film growth. This work was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for the 21@super st@ COE Program from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of the Japanese Government.