Pulsed Laser Deposition of Superhard Nitride Coatings

Nitrides coatings have a large number of applications in high-technology industries due to many unique physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Thin films of aluminum nitride (AIN), silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), and carbon nitride (CN_x) were deposited on Si (100) substrates using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The seeding of titanium nitride (TiN) before the CN_x deposition has promoted the growth of the predominantly crystalline CN_x films. The laser deposition parameters and substrate temperature play an important role in fabricating high quality films. The structural and microstructural properties of these films have been characterized using x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope techniques. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been used to investigate the bonding properties in CN_x films. The mechanical properties of the films were evaluated to correlate with the processing parameters of the deposited films. It has been shown that the films with crystalline quality structure have higher hardness and modulus values.