CHEMICAL-STABILITY OF LAMINATED ALN ALNH FILMS/

Highly adherent and chemically stable coatings of aluminum nitride are produced by ion beam sputter deposition of graded concentration films of AlN:H(x), where x ranges to zero (AlN) at the outer surface of the film. These layered structures exhibit the good adhesion of AlN:H whi le maintaining the chemical stability of AlN. On the basis of scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, films deposite d on room temperature substrates (metal or mica) form layers that are smooth (structures smaller than 6 nm) and that remain so for periods l onger than one month. Fourier transform spectroscopy indicates that th ey are chemically unchanged by exposure to air for two months.