University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Physical properties of thin film, metastable titanium(0.5)aluminum(0.5)nitrogen alloys deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

McIntyre, Dale Charles

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Description

Title
Physical properties of thin film, metastable titanium(0.5)aluminum(0.5)nitrogen alloys deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering
Author(s)
McIntyre, Dale Charles
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Greene, Joseph E.
Department of Study
  • Engineering, Metallurgy
  • Engineering, Materials Science
Discipline
  • Engineering, Metallurgy
  • Engineering, Materials Science
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Engineering, Metallurgy
  • Engineering, Materials Science
Language
eng
Abstract
  • Metastable, NaCl-structure, polycrystalline Ti$\sb{0.5}$Al$\sb{0.5}$N films, 3-5 $\mu$m thick, have been deposited on stainless-steel substrates by d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering. The effects of low-energy (E $\leq$ 250 eV) ion bombardment during deposition on thin film microstructure, oxidation properties, and optical reflectance of the metastable alloy were evaluated.
  • The ion flux to deposition flux ratio was about unity and for an applied substrate bias V$\sb{\rm s}$, the average energy of the ions impinging on the growing film was $\simeq$ eV$\sb{\rm s}$, for V$\sb{\rm s}$ $\geq$ 50 V. Films deposited with V$\sb{\rm s}$ = 0 had a columnar microstructure, low dislocation density, and were voided and porous. The primary effect of ion-irradiation at low acceleration energies (V$\sb{\rm s}$ $\leq$ 120 V) was film densification by the elimination of voids and pores, while at higher energies (V$\sb{\rm s}$ $>$ 120 V) the primary effect of ion-bombardment was an increase in dislocation density.
  • Films deposited with V$\sb{\rm s}$ of O and 150 V were oxidized in O$\sb2$ at temperatures between 750$\sp\circ$C and 900$\sp\circ$C. Oxidation involved both the initial formation of an oxide overlayer and the subsequent growth of oxide crystallites. The diffusion limited growth of the oxide overlayer involved the transport of Al and O through a Al-rich oxide/Ti-rich oxide bilayer and followed the same kinetics for both 0 and 150 V films. The oxide crystallites, primarily composed of Ti and O, were first observed at tensile cracks in the V$\sb{\rm s}$ = 0 films when oxide overlayer thicknesses, d$\sb{\rm ox}$, were approximately 150 nm, and were also later observed at intragranular defects when d$\sb{\rm ox}$ $\simeq$ 400 nm. The initial appearance of crystallites was observed at larger d$\sb{\rm ox}$ for the V$\sb{\rm s}$ = 150 V samples.
  • The optical reflectance, R, of the metastable films was measured in the visible and infrared spectral regions at wavelengths, $\lambda$, in the range 250 nm $\leq$ $\lambda$ $\leq$ 2400 nm. The near-infrared R the films showed the most dependence on V$\sb{\rm s}$, because of the variation in conduction-electron mobility with film defect density. Valance-band spectra from Ti$\sb{0.5}$Al$\sb{0.5}$N, collected using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, showed that metastable Ti$\sb{0.5}$Al$\sb{0.5}$N had $\simeq$ 40% fewer conduction electrons than NaCl structure TiN.
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/23769
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Copyright 1989 McIntyre, Dale Charles

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