IN-DEPTH HOMOGENEITY OF VAPOR-DEPOSITED MULTICOMPONENT THIN-FILMS

In many fields of advanced technology, thin film properties are fitted to specific requirements by the codeposition of alloying additives. I n 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 depositi on process, an inhomogeneous in-depth distribution of the elemental co ncentration may occur. In the present paper the concentration distribu tion of multicomponent thin films is discussed using ternary nitride c oatings as an example ((Ti,Cr)N, (Ti,Pd)N, (Cr,Pd)N)). Oscillating ele mental distribution is observed due to the sample rotation during film deposition. The laminate thickness depends on the flux density and ro tation speed governing the local growth rate and can range down to few nanometres. The ternary nitride films were deposited by the hollow ca thode discharge electron beam evaporation and the magnetron sputter te chnique, respectively, and were characterized by Auger electron spectr oscopy (AES) and glow discharge optical spectroscopy (GDOS).