Epitaxial growth of aluminium doped zinc oxide films by magnetron sputtering on 001 , 110 , and 012 oriented sapphire substrates

Highly aluminium doped zinc oxide ZnO films have been grown on differently oriented sapphire substrates by magnetron sputtering from an oxidic target. Rocking curve measurements, Rutherford backscattering analysis and transmission electron microscopy show that the films exhibit a disturbed film growth. However, despite the large nominal lattice mismatch between ZnO and sapphire 31 , the films grow epitaxially on every sapphire orientation, even at room temperature, proven by pole figure analysis. The reason that epitaxial growth can be observed is an incommensurate lattice fitting between ZnO and sapphire by a mutual rotational alignment of their lattices. Films of the best crystallographic quality have been grown on 110 oriented sapphire, which is also reflected by the highest Hall mobility in these layer

Effect of substrate temperature on structural and materials properties of zirconium nitride films on D9 steel substrates

Thin zirconium nitride (ZrN) films were prepared by using reactive direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering onto D9 steel substrates. XRD technique was employed to study the coatings, observing variations of crystallite size, crystallite texture and lattice constant, as a function of substrate temperature. Chemical states of the ZrN thin films were determined by X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS). AFM picture showed the presence of spherical shaped grains on the top of homogeneous granular surface. The hardness and elastic modulus values were measured by nanoindendation and their values are 18.5 and 343 GPa respectively

Characterization of reactive DC magnetron sputtered TiAlN thin films

Thin films of about 1μm Titanium Aluminum Nitride (TiAlN) were deposited onto mild steel substrates by reactive direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering using a target consisting of equal segments of titanium and aluminum. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the TiAlN phase had preferred orientations along 111 and 200 with the face-centered cubic structure. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) analyses indicated that the films were uniform and compact. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra reveal that TiAlN thin films are of good optical quality. Laser Raman studies revealed the presence of characteristic peaks of TiAlN at 312.5, 675, and 1187.5 cm–1

Deposition of Ni/TiN composite coatings by a plasma assisted MOCVD using an organometallic precursor

Titanium nitride (TiN)/nickel (Ni) composite coatings were synthesized by plasma assisted metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (PAMOCVD) using organo-metallic and metal-organic complexes namely dichlorobis( 5- cyclopentadienyl)titanium (IV) for titanium and N,N'-ethylene-bis(2,4-pentanedion-iminoato)nickel(II) for nickel. The growth of such films was investigated in nitrogen (N2) plasma environment in the substrate temperature range of 450- 550ºC at a deposition pressure of 0.5-1 mbar. Prior to the deposition of films, the Ti precursor was subjected to the equilibrium vapour pressure measurements by employing TG/DTA in transpiration mode, which led to the value of 109.2 ± 5.6 kJ mol-1 for the standard enthalpy of sublimation (ΔHo sub). The phase identification using glancing incidence x-ray diffraction showed Ni/TiN is a nanocomposite coating containing nanocrystals of Ni and TiN with face centered cubic structure. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a uniform surface morphology of the films, while chemical analysis by energy dispersive analysis confirmed the presence of titanium, nickel and nitrogen in the composite films

Plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition of Cr coatings using chromium (III) acetylacetonate vapour source

We report here the synthesis and characterisation of Cr coatings by an environmental friendly Plasma Assisted Metal-Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition (PAMOCVD) process. The Cr coatings were developed using Cr(acaC)3 as the chemical vapour source at a substrate temperature and a power density of 550 degrees C and 70 mW/cm(2), respectively. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Vicker's microhardness measurements. The investigations revealed that the Cr films are nanocrystalline, free from pores and cracks and have hardness of 1200 HV The energy dispersive analysis of X-rays and XPS confirmed the presence of Cr in the films. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved