STRESS IN DC SPUTTERED TIN B-C-N MULTILAYERS

Stress in crystalline TiN/amorphous B-C-N multilayered thin films has been determined by the substrate curvature technique. It is establishe d that the total stress is dependent on the number of deposited bilaye rs and on the bilayer repeat length. The linear relationship between t he stress and the inverse of the bilayer repeat length allows calculat ion of the value of the interface stress. It is found to be compressiv e with a value between 1.79 and 2.46 J/m(2), depending on the calculat ion method. An apparent dependence between the interface stress and th e total thickness of the multilayer film is observed. It is interprete d as an additional relaxation due to an increase of the roughness of t he interfaces when the number of deposited bilayers is increased. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.