Investigation of NbN and Nb–Si–N Coatings Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering

Анотація

NbN and Nb-Si-N films were deposited by magnetron sputtering the Nb and Si targets on silicon wafers at various bias voltages, U_x. The deposited films were annealed to establish their thermal stability. The films were investigated by atomic force microscope, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nanoindentation. The NbN films were nanostructured, and the Nb-Si-N films had a nanocomposite structure, and represented an aggregation of δ-NbN_x nanocrystallites embedded into the amorphous Si₃N₄ tissue (nc-δ-NbN_x/a-Si₃N₄).