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Lack of hardening effect in TiN/NbN multilayers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2011

Jon M. Molina-Aldareguia ,
Stephen J. Lloyd ,
Zoe H. Barber  and
William J. Clegg
Jon M. Molina-Aldareguia
Affiliation:
Dept of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
Stephen J. Lloyd
Affiliation:
Dept of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
Zoe H. Barber
Affiliation:
Dept of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
William J. Clegg
Affiliation:
Dept of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
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Abstract

There is evidence indicating that multilayer films can be harder than monolithic ones. To investigate this, TiN/NbN multilayers with bilayer thicknesses ranging from 4 nm to 30 nm have been grown on MgO (001) single crystals using reactive magnetron sputtering. The sharpness of the interface and the composition modulation, which would be expected to strongly influence dislocation motion, have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). These experiments show that the interfaces remain reasonably sharp (interface thickness ∼1 nm) and the composition modulation amplitude is maximum for multilayers with bilayer thicknesses greater than ∼10 nm. With thinner bilayers, the composition modulation decreases but the layered structure remains. Despite this, the nanoindentation hardness of the multilayers is between 20 and 25 GPa, which is similar to that of TiN and NbN alone, and therefore, no hardening due to the layering is observed. The deformation mechanisms observed under the indent in the TEM are consistent with these results.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 673: Symposium P – Dislocations and Deformation Mechanisms in Thin Films and Small Structures , 2001 , P3.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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