Title: Sputter deposition of nitride coatings in oxygen-contaminated sputter atmospheres

Authors: Hermann A. Jehn, Eckehard Fromm, Siegfried Hofmann

Addresses: Forschungsinstitut fur Edelmetalle und Metallchemie, D-7070 Schwlbisch Gmtind, Germany. ' Max-Planck-Institut fur Metallforschung, Institut fur Werkstoffwissenschaft, D-7000 Stuttgart, Germany. ' Max-Planck-Institut fur Metallforschung, Institut fur Werkstoffwissenschaft, D-7000 Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract: Like all PVD processes, sputtering requires high-vacuum systems. The present contribution reports on the effect of the residual atmosphere and substrate material on the coating/substrate interface composition, film composition and structure of nitride hard coatings (TiN_x, ZrN_x, NbN_x). Elevated residual gas pressures and sputter gas impurities were simulated by oxygen partial pressures. The coatings were characterized by AES, ESCA, REM and XRD. The oxygen contents of the interface region and the coatings strongly depend on the O₂ pressure and the deposition conditions (substrate cleaning and bias). The oxygen enrichment in the interface is clearly bound to the coating metal. Oxygen containing ZrN_x coatings are two-phase (ZrN + ZrO₂), while TiN_x films dissolve the oxygen (Ti(N,O)).

Keywords: sputering; hard coatings; interface composition; film composition; oxygen contamination; titanium nitride; zirconium nitride; niobium nitride; sputter deposition; nitride coatings; oxygen contamination; sputter atmospheres; substrate material.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.1993.036536

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 1993 Vol.8 No.2/3/4, pp.253 - 264

Published online: 04 Nov 2010 *

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