Refractory coatings of TiC and TiB2 have been grown by pulsed laser de
position on Si(100) and on X155 steel at various substrate temperature
s ranging from 40 degrees C-650 degrees C. A pulsed KrF excimer laser
was used with the deposition chamber at a base pressure of 10(-6) mbar
. The morphology and structure of the films, studied with scanning ele
ctron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and transmission el
ectron microscopy (TEM) analysis, showed that polycrystalline films wi
th fine morphology of TIC and TiB2 were deposited with grain sizes of
10 nm-70 nm at all substrate temperatures. Shifts in the X-ray diffrac
tion peaks were attributed to the presence of residual stresses in the
films, which decreased as the substrate temperature was increased. Fi
nally, the metallic behavior of the coatings was studied by electrical
resistivity measurements. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.