Xm. He et al., Bonding structure and properties of ion enhanced reactive magnetron sputtered silicon carbonitride films, J PHYS-COND, 12(37), 2000, pp. L591-L597
Amorphous silicon carbonitride (a-SiCN) films were synthesized by ion enhan
ced radio-frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering from a Si4C target using a mi
xture of Ar and N-2 gases. The oxidation resistance of the films was invest
igated in an oxygen atmosphere over the temperature range of 0-1000 degrees
C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the a-SiCN films exhibited
a well-defined Si-C-N bonding structure. The composition, density, hardnes
s, and stress were uniquely characterized with respect to the average energ
y per deposited atom. Under optimum deposition conditions a-SiCN films can
be prepared to exhibit high density (>2.6 g cm(-3)), high hardness (>25 GPa
), and enhanced oxidization resistance at temperatures up to 800 degrees C.