Influence of Nitrogen Gas Flow on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Sputtered Chromium Nitride Thin Films

Abstract

Nitride based hard coatings are widely used for mechanical applications. Among these coatings, chromium nitrides are especially interesting because of its good mechanical and tribological properties. In this work we have studied the influence of nitrogen gas flow on mechanical and tribological properties of chromium nitride thin films. The chromium nitride thin films were deposited on Al 5083 by DC magnetron sputtering technique at different nitrogen gas flows in the range of 5-20 sccm. Surface morphology and chemical composition of the films were studied using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The thickness of the films was determined by quartz crystal monitor and checked with FESEM cross-section images. The mechanical and tribological properties of the samples were investigated by means of nanoindentation and scratch tests. The results showed that films hardness increased with nitrogen gas flow, while coefficient of friction and scratch volume decreased. The structural investigations showed that these behaviors were due to the decrease of dislocation density and improvement of crystal quality.

Effects of TiN Top Electrode Texturing on Ferroelectricity in Hf1–xZrxO2

“…This corresponds well with previously reported trends for TiN sputtering in literature and can be explained by a decreased ion energy with higher deposition pressures . The preferred texturing of TiN is decided by overall energy minimization, which for TiN becomes a competition between the low strain energy of the (111) plane and low surface energy of the (002) plane . At low ion energy (high pressure), the strain energy dominates and (111) texturing is thus preferred, while at higher ion energy (low pressure), surface energy dominates, favoring (002) texturing .…”

“… 13 The preferred texturing of TiN is decided by overall energy minimization, which for TiN becomes a competition between the low strain energy of the (111) plane and low surface energy of the (002) plane. 15 At low ion energy (high pressure), the strain energy dominates and (111) texturing is thus preferred, while at higher ion energy (low pressure), surface energy dominates, favoring (002) texturing. 13 Interestingly, for samples D and E where a N 2 flow is introduced, the (002) reflection is predominant.…”

Damp Heat Durability of Al-Doped ZnO Transparent Electrodes with Different Crystal Growth Orientations

“…2). It indicates that higher rate of argon gas flow would lead to slightly more rapid deposition rate which confirmed the results reported by Jafarzadeh et al 22 As the higher rate of argon gas flow was applied, a transition of the orientation (110) to (002) contributed to the decrease of sheet resistance and resistivity (Fig. 2), indicating that texture (002) contributed to better conductivity of AZO films in comparison with films with (110).…”