Abstract
Chromium nitride (Cr2N) thin films were prepared by a DC magnetron sputtering technique. The deposition temperature was raised from 50 to 300°C, and its influence on the film structure and refractive index was investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the crystalline structure of the films transforms from the (101) to (002) oriented hexagonal Cr2N phase as the increase of substrate temperature above 50°C, and a highly textured film grows at 100°C. An empirical relation between the crystalline orientation and infrared active modes of the films is obtained, i.e., the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum of the film prepared at 50°C exhibits only A1 (TO) mode. The prominent peak in the FTIR spectra of the film prepared above 50°C is assigned to the E1 (TO) mode and is correlated with the (002) or c-axis oriented hexagonal wurtzite phase of Cr2N. In the surface analysis of atomic force microscopy, a transformation from the featureless surface to columnar-type morphology is observed with the increase of substrate temperature from 50 to 100°C, exhibiting c-axis oriented crystallite growth. A further increase in substrate temperature to 200°C causes the c-axis crystallites to merge, resulting in the formation of voids. The refractive index (n) of the deposited films is obtained using spectroscopic ellipsometry.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. Lin, Z.L. Wu, X.H. Zhang, B. Mishra, J.J. Moore, and W.D. Sproul, A comparative study of CrNx coatings synthesized by dc and pulsed dc magnetron sputtering, Thin Solid Films, 517(2009), No. 6, p. 1887.
Z.B. Qi, B. Liu, Z.T. Wu, F.P. Zhu, Z.C. Wang, and C.H. Wu, A comparative study of the oxidation behavior of Cr2N and CrN coatings, Thin Solid Films, 544(2013), p. 515.
B.W. Karr, I. Petrov, D.G. Cahill, and J.E. Greene, Morphology of epitaxial TiN (001) grown by magnetron sputtering, Appl. Phys. Lett., 70(1997), p. 1703.
S. Logothetidis, P. Patsalas, K. Sarakinos, C. Charitidis, and C. Metaxa, The effect of crystal structure and morphology on the optical properties of chromium nitride thin films, Surf. Coat. Technol., 180–181(2004), p. 637.
M. Sikkens, A.A.M.T. van Heereveld, E. Vogelzang, and C.A. Boose, The development of high performance, low cost solar-selective absorbers, Thin Solid Films, 108(1983), No. 3, p. 229.
D. Gall, C.S. Shin, R.T. Haasch, I. Petrov, and J.E. Greene, Band gap in epitaxial NaCl-structure CrN (001) layers, J. Appl. Phys., 91(2002), p. 5882.
M. Clement, E. Iborra, J. Sangrador, A. Sanz-Hervás, L. Vergara, and M. Aguilar, Influence of sputtering mechanisms on the preferred orientation of aluminum nitride thin films, J. Appl. Phys., 94(2003), p. 1495.
A. Raveh, M. Weiss, M. Pinkas, D.Z. Rosen, and G. Kimmel, Graded Al-AlN, TiN, and TiAlN multilayers deposited by radio-frequency reactive magnetron sputtering, Surf. Coat. Technol., 114(1999), No. 2–3, p. 269.
M. Ohring, The Materials Science of Thin Films, Academic Press, San Diego, 1992, p. 461.
M. Hirai, Y. Ueno, T. Suzuki, W.H. Jiang, C. Grigoriu, and K. Yatsui, Characteristics of CrN films prepared by pulsed laser deposition, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 40(2001), p. 1052.
T. Suzuki, J. Inoue, H. Saito, M. Hirai, H. Suematsu, W. Jiang, and K. Yatsui, Influence of oxygen content on structure and hardness of Cr-N-O thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition, Thin Solid Films, 515(2006), No. 4, p. 2161.
G. Cabrera, F. Torres, J.C. Caicedo, W. Aperador, C. Amaya, and P. Prieto, Improvement of electrochemical surface properties in steel substrates using a nanostructured CrN/AlN multilayer coating, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 21(2012), No. 1, p. 128.
T. Suzuki, H. Saito, M. Hirai, H. Suematsu, W.H. Jiang, and K. Yatsui, Preparation of Cr(Nx,Oy) thin films by pulsed laser deposition, Thin Solid Films, 407(2002), No. 1–2, p. 118.
H.J. Chen, C.H. Jia, X.A. Zhang, and W.F. Zhang, The preparation and characterization of preferred (110) orientation aluminum nitride thin films on Si (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition, Vacuum, 85(2010), No. 2, p. 193.
S. Khan, M. Mehmood, S. Saeed, T.M. Khan, G. Sadiq, and I. Ahmed, Effect of substrate biasing and temperature on AlN thin film deposited by cathodic arc ion, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process., 16(2013), No. 3, p. 640.
S. Kuchibhatla, L.E. Rodak, and D. Korakakis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy characterization of AlN thin films grown on sacrificial silicon oxide layers via metal organic vapor phase epitaxy, Thin Solid Films, 519(2010), No. 1, p. 117.
J.H. Edgar, C.A. Carosella, C.R. Eddy Jr., and D.T. Smith, Effect of beam voltage on the properties of aluminium nitride prepared by ion beam assisted deposition, J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron., 7(1996), p. 247.
M.A. Djouadi, C. Nouveau, O. Banakh, R. Sanjinés, F. Lévy, and G. Nouet, Stress profiles and thermal stability of CrxNy films deposited by magnetron sputtering, Surf. Coat. Technol., 151–152(2002), p. 510.
S.M. Aouadi, D.M. Mihut, M.L. Kuruppu, S.R. Kirkpatrick, and S.L. Rohde, Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements of chromium nitride coatings, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 19(2001), p. 2800.
C. Yang, H.Q. Fan, Y.X. Xi, J. Chen, and Z. Li, Effects of depositing temperatures on structure and optical properties of TiO2 film deposited by ion beam assisted electron beam evaporation, Appl. Surf. Sci., 254(2008), No. 9, p. 2685.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khan, S., Mahmood, A., Shah, A. et al. Structural and optical analysis of Cr2N thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering. Int J Miner Metall Mater 22, 197–202 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-015-1061-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-015-1061-7