W. Ensinger et M. Kiuchi, CUBIC NITRIDES OF THE 6TH GROUP OF TRANSITION-METALS FORMED BY NITROGEN ION IRRADIATION DURING METAL CONDENSATION, Surface & coatings technology, 84(1-3), 1996, pp. 425-428
Nitrogen-containing phases of chromium, molybdenum and tungsten were f
ormed by evaporation of the metal under simultaneous nitrogen ion irra
diation. With gradually increasing ion irradiation intensity, chromium
forms initially Cr and Cr2N phase mixtures, then additionally CrN app
ears, and at the highest intensities pure CrN films are formed. Molybd
enum also forms pure nitride MoN under intense ion bombardment. Howeve
r, in this case two different crystal structures are found, the stable
hexagonal phase and the metastable cubic high-temperature phase. The
latter is favoured under intense ion irradiation. In the case of tungs
ten, even at the highest intensities, only phase mixtures of W and W2N
were formed. These observed differences can be explained by the low r
eactivity of these metals towards nitrogen and the low chemical stabil
ity of the nitrides, particularly of WN. The metastable high-temperatu
re structure of MoN is formed under the particular conditions of ion b
ombardment with rapid energy dissipation.