Structural, electrical, optical, and mechanical characterizations of decorative ZrO{sub x}N{sub y} thin films

Journal Article · Fri Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2005 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1990261· OSTI ID:20713991

Carvalho, P; Vaz, F; Rebouta, L; Cunha, L; Tavares, C J; Moura, C; Alves, E; Cavaleiro, A; Goudeau, Ph; Le Bourhis, E; Riviere, J P; Pierson, J F; Banakh, O ^[1]

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1. Departamento de Fisica, Universidade do Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes (Portugal)

The main objective of this work is the preparation of decorative zirconium oxynitride, ZrO{sub x}N{sub y}, thin films by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. Film properties were analyzed as a function of the reactive gas flow and were correlated with the observed structural changes. Measurements showed a systematic decrease in the deposition rate with the increase of the reactive gas flow and revealed three distinct modes: (i) a metallic mode (ii) a transition mode (subdivided into three zones), and (iii) an oxide mode. The measurements of target potential were also consistent with these changes, revealing a systematic increase from 314 to 337 V. Structural characterization uncovered different behaviors within each of the different zones, with a strong dependence of film texture on the oxygen content. These structural changes were also confirmed by resistivity measurements, whose values ranged from 250 to 400 {mu}{omega} cm for low gas flows and up to 10{sup 6} {mu}{omega} cm for the highest flow rates. Color measurements in the films revealed a change from bright yellow at low reactive gas flows to red brownish at intermediate flows and dark blue for the films prepared at the highest flows. Hardness measurements gave higher values for the region where larger grain sizes were found, showing that the grain growth hardening effect is one of the main parameters that can help explain the observed behavior. Also the peak intensity ratio and the residual stress states were found to be important factors for explaining this behavior.

• OSTI ID: 20713991
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 98, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1990261; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COLOR
DEPOSITION
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
FLOW RATE
GAS FLOW
GRAIN GROWTH
GRAIN SIZE
HARDENING
HARDNESS
OXYGEN
RESIDUAL STRESSES
SPUTTERING
TEXTURE
THIN FILMS
ZIRCONIUM NITRIDES
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES