Title: Microstructural characterisation of Cr/CrN nano-multilayers produced by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

Authors: Diana M. Marulanda; Arturo Lousa; Jhon J. Olaya

Addresses: Research in Energy and Materials (REM) Group, Antonio Nariño University, 22th Street South, 12D-81, Bogotá, Colombia ' Department of Applied Physics and Optics, University of Barcelona, Martí i Franques 1, E-08028, Barcelona, Spain ' Mechanic and Mechatronic Engineering Department, National University of Colombia, 30th Avenue, 45-03, Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract: The production of Cr/CrN nano-multilayers through the unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBM) technique was presented, and the influence of the unbalance degree on microstructure was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to study phase formation in the coatings, and the presence of a multilayer structure was confirmed through transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Total thickness was measured through profilometry and it was assessed using grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry (XRR), which was also used for density, bilayer period and interface roughness measurements. The sin² ψ method was used to study residual stresses presence. Results showed that the unbalance degree did not significantly influence the orientation of the multilayer planes, but it had an influence on peak positions, which indicated the presence of residual stresses. The density was also influenced by the unbalance degree, mainly due to ionic bombardment variation with each unbalance degree use.

Keywords: unbalanced magnetron sputtering; UBM; multilayers; microstructure; Cr-CrN nano-multilayers; nanotechnology; chromium; chromium nitride; phase formation; coatings; residual stress; density.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNBM.2012.051694

International Journal of Nano and Biomaterials, 2012 Vol.4 No.3/4, pp.213 - 222

Published online: 22 Nov 2014 *

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