Deposition and characterization of NiAl and Ni-Al-N thin films from a NiAlcompound target

NiAl and Ni-Al-N thin films have been deposited from a dense and homogeneou s NiAl compound target onto various substrates, including stainless steel, glass, and Si < 100 > wafer, by using RF magnetron sputtering. The films ha ve been characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectros copy, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and scanni ng transmission electron microscopy. Both the NiAl and Ni-Al-N thin films e xhibited the near equiatomic NiAl phase. The Ni-Al-N thin films showed an i ncreasing nitrogen content with increasing the amount of N-2 in the sputter ing atmosphere during deposition. XPS spectra confirmed the possible format ion of aluminum nitride in the Ni-Al-N films. The texture, composition, and microstructure of the NiAl films change with the discharge power used. The NiAl thin films deposited using 500 W RF power exhibited the microstructur e of a 0.5-0.7-mu m amorphous layer adjacent to the substrate and a dense a nd columnar zone T crystalline microstructure which had a preferred orienta tion [110]. The Ni-Al-N films showed a homogeneous microstructure of very f ine (nano scale) NiAl (110) grains distributed into an amorphous matrix. Th e results confirm the feasibility of producing high-quality NiAl and Ni-Al- N thin films from a NiAl compound PVD target. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A . All rights reserved.