The surface topography of titanium nitride made by chemical vapor deposition

Titanium nitride coating deposited by classical chemical vapor deposition o n cemented carbide has been studied in terms of the fractal dimension and s urface topography before and after metal ion implantation. The results have been analyzed by fast Fourier analysis whence it was found that the surfac e can be considered as fractal, and its dimension is not changed by the imp lantation process which may mean that concomitant sputter erosion is minima l. The intercept of the Fourier transform power spectrum log (Magnitude(2)) vs, log (Frequency) plot is linearly proportional to the R-a roughness (de fined as the arithmetic average of the absolute values of all points in the profile scanned). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.