INTERFACIAL ROUGHNESS OF MULTILAYERED TIN ZRN COATINGS/

TiN/ZrN multilayers with nominal modulation periods of 8.5, 12.5 and 1 6.5 nm and total thicknesses ranging between 60 nm and 1.5 mu m were p repared by combined DC and RF magnetron sputtering. These coatings wer e deposited on polished Si substrates. The multilayer period was evalu ated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) in the low angle region. Several order s of multilayer reflections are present in these diffraction patterns, exhibiting a pronounced attenuation, which in turn indicates a modera te degree of interfacial roughness. The interface roughness was studie d as a function of the number of bilayers and of the modulation period by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). An increase of the a verage interlayer roughness with the thickness and with the modulation period was observed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.