Silicon carbide films were deposited onto crystalline silicon substrates fr
om a sintered SiC target using a RF magnetron sputtering system. The influe
nce of substrate temperature (150-500 degreesC) and polarization (0-100 V),
Ar pressure (0.05-4 Pa) and RF power (50-400 W) on the mechanical properti
es (hardness and stress) of the resulting films was studied. Films with har
dness values larger than 40 GPa could be obtained, provided that Si and C s
puttered atoms can reach the surface of the growing film with sufficient hi
gh energy and low deposition rates in order to guarantee a high surface mob
ility. At high deposition rates the surface mobility is limited, but the in
crease in substrate temperature can contribute to stress relief. Upon therm
al annealing at high temperatures, completely stress-free films could be pr
oduced without affecting the material hardness. This effect is accompanied
by an increased structural and chemical order. Substrate bias was found not
to be beneficial to the film properties, since it leads to substantial arg
on incorporation into the material. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ
ts reserved.