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In‐depth homogeneity of vapour deposited multicomponent thin films
Author(s) -
Jehn Hermann A.,
Huber Eberhard,
Hofmann Siegfried
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.740220135
Subject(s) - thin film , auger electron spectroscopy , ternary operation , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , nitride , deposition (geology) , sputter deposition , sputtering , homogeneity (statistics) , electron beam physical vapor deposition , physical vapor deposition , chemistry , nanotechnology , layer (electronics) , programming language , paleontology , physics , statistics , mathematics , chromatography , sediment , computer science , nuclear physics , biology
In many fields of advanced technology, thin film properties are fitted to specific requirements by the codeposition of alloying additives. In particular the physical vapour deposition (PVD) techniques allow an almost unlimited range of film composition. The sources can be single or multiple targets. Due to the technical performances of the deposition process, an inhomogeneous in‐depth distribution of the elemental concentration may occur. In the present paper the concentration distribution of multicomponent thin films is discussed using ternary nitride coatings as an example ((Ti, Cr)N, (Ti, Pd)N, (Cr, Pd)N). Oscillating elemental distribution is observed due to the sample rotation during film deposition. The laminate thickness depends on the flux density and rotation speed governing the local growth rate and can range down to few nanometres. The ternary nitride films were deposited by the hollow cathode discharge electron beam evaporation and the magnetron sputter technique, respectively, and were characterized by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and glow discharge optical spectroscopy (GDOS).