XRD CHARACTERIZATION OF ION-IMPLANTED TIN COATINGS

A microstructure model of thin films is presented that treats large va riations observed in real structure of hard coatings. The model takes into account the free expansion of grains in perpendicular direction, a limited expansion along the substrate surface and the existence of t he crystallographic direction of easiest deformation. It can explain t he anisotropy of cubic lattice parameters, the curvature of interplana r spacing in dependence on sin(2) psi psi in stress measurement, the a nisotropy in diffraction line broadening and changes in intensities of diffraction lines. The penetration of foreign atoms and ions into the host structure is considered as one of the possible sources of real s tructure diversity of materials. The ion implantation was used as a to ol changing the microstructure of thin films in a controlled way.