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Investigation of the crystal structure on the nanomechanical properties of pulsed laser deposited niobium nitride thin films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2012

Md Abdullah Al Mamun ,
Ashraf Hassan Farha ,
Yüksel Ufuktepe ,
Hani E. Elsayed-Ali  and
Abdelmageed A. Elmustafa
Md Abdullah Al Mamun
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529; and Applied Research Center, Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606
Ashraf Hassan Farha
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529; and Applied Research Center, Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606
Yüksel Ufuktepe
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Cukurova University, Adana, 01330, Turkey
Hani E. Elsayed-Ali
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529; and Applied Research Center, Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606
Abdelmageed A. Elmustafa*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529; and Applied Research Center, Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

NbN thin films grown on Nb using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) were investigated for film crystal structures. The nanomechanical properties of NbN on Nb were examined as a function of the film/substrate crystal structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals peaks that correspond to δ-NbN cubic and β-Nb2N hexagonal phases in addition to δ′-NbN phase. Samples of various crystal structures were tested for phase characterization, microstructure, and surface morphology using XRD analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The nanomechanical properties were investigated using nanoindentation. The results indicate that there are clear effects of the crystal structure on the hardness of the PLD-grown NbNx films.

Keywords

nano-indentationhardnessx-ray diffraction (XRD)
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 13 , 14 July 2012 , pp. 1725 - 1731
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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