Crystallographic Structure of Sputtered Cubic delta -VN sub x Films: Influence of Basic Deposition Parameters

• Published in: Surface & coatings technology 1993-04, Vol.61 (1-3), p.238-244
• Main Authors: Farges, G, Beauprez, E, St Catherine, M C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0257-8972

delta -VN sub x films were produced by high current triode magnetron sputtering in reactive mode. The influence of substrate bias voltage and growth rate on the composition including argon content, crystal structure and hardness of the deposits on a 35CD4 steel substrate were investigated using, respectively, electron probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Vickers micro-hardness measurements. It was confirmed that quartz film thickness measurement is a suitable technique to control the composition of reactively sputtered vanadium nitride films. The texture of the films changed from a strong < 200 > or < 220 > preferred orientation to a mixed < 200 > , < 111 > and < 220 > one for a mean N-to-V ratio of 0.84 or 0.91, respectively, as the substrate bias increased from --50 to --150 V. The crystal structure of these films was found to be rather independent of the growth rate. The microhardness of delta -VN sub x films varied with the deposition parameters from 1500 to 2600 HV sub 0.1 .