Evolution of the microstructure of sputter deposited TaAlON thin films with increasing oxygen partial pressure

SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY

卷:418

Article

Schalk, Nina^1,2  Saringer, Christian²  Fian, Alexander³  Terziyska, Velislava L.¹  Julin, Jaakko^4,5  Tkadletz, Michael¹ 

[1] Univ Leoben, Dept Mat Sci, Franz Josef Str 18, A-8700 Leoben, Austria

[2] Univ Leoben, Christian Doppler Lab Adv Coated Cutting Tools, Dept Mat Sci, Franz Josef Str 18, A-8700 Leoben, Austria

[3] JOANNEUM RES Forsch Gesell, Inst Surface Technol & Photon, Franz Pichler Str 2, A-8160 Weiz, Austria

[4] Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf, Inst Ion Beam Phys & Mat Res, Bautzner Landstr 400, D-01328 Dresden, Germany

[5] Univ Jyvaskyla, Dept Phys, POB 35, Jyvaskyla 40014, Finland

关键词: Oxynitrides;    TaAlON;    Microstructure;    TEM;    XPS;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.surfcoat.2021.127237

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Recently, quaternary oxynitrides of transition metals and aluminum have attracted increasing interest due to their tunable properties. Within the present work, a series of TaAl(O)N films was sputter deposited using constant nitrogen and varying oxygen partial pressures. The films were grown from single element Ta and Al targets. The deposition parameters were adjusted to obtain a Ta/Al atomic ratio of similar to 50/50 for the oxygen-free film and were held constant for the following depositions, with the exception of the increasing oxygen partial pressure and compensatory decreasing argon partial pressure. Elastic recoil detection analysis revealed oxygen contents of up to similar to 26 at.%, while the nitrogen content decreased from similar to 47 at.% in the oxygen-free film to similar to 35 at.% in the film with the highest oxygen content, resulting in a significant decrease of the metal/non-metal ratio with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The micro- and bonding structures of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Xray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. All films exhibited a dominating face-centered cubic TaN-based structure with indications for additional nanocrystalline and amorphous phase fractions in the oxygen containing films. In addition, the mechanical properties were evaluated by nanoindentation, yielding a decreasing hardness and elastic modulus with increasing oxygen content.

【 授权许可】

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