Influence of Heat Treatment on the Structure of W-Si-N Sputtered Films

W-Si-N sputtered coatings with different chemical compositions were deposited by magnetron sputtering and annealed in N sub 2 (H sub 2 ) and Ar(H sub 2 ) atmospheres up to 1400 deg C. The results show that the structure of the as-deposited films depends on their chemical composition. Films with (W+S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Key engineering materials 2002-01, Vol.230-232, p.640-643
Main Authors: Cavaleiro, Albano, Louro, C., Trindade, Bruno, Ferreira, Luís Manuel Silva
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:W-Si-N sputtered coatings with different chemical compositions were deposited by magnetron sputtering and annealed in N sub 2 (H sub 2 ) and Ar(H sub 2 ) atmospheres up to 1400 deg C. The results show that the structure of the as-deposited films depends on their chemical composition. Films with (W+Si)/N ratios close to 1 and low silicon contents are crystalline and formed by either a delta -WN or a beta -W sub 2 N structure. High silicon contents induce amorphicity of these films. This type of structure was also observed in the as-deposited films with low nitrogen contents. The W sub 46 N sub 54 and W sub 36 Si sub 15 N sub 49 crystalline films maintain their initial structure up to temperatures of 1200 deg C. The amorphous W sub 27 Si sub 20 N sub 53 coating crystallize into alpha -W + beta -W sub 2 N at 1050 deg C. The alpha -W phase was detected in all the coatings with (W+Si)/N ratio close to 1 annealed at temperatures equal or higher than 1050 deg C. Concerning the coatings with lower nitrogen contents (W sub 69 Si sub 23 N sub 8 and W sub 64 Si sub 9 N sub 27 ) annealed in an argon atmosphere the results showed that they crystallize at relatively low temperatures (approx = 700 deg C). Simultaneously, the films lose nitrogen. The final Si/N atomic ratio of these annealed films corresponds to the stoichiometry of the Si sub 3 N sub 4 phase. The higher is the silicon content, the lower is the nitrogen loss during annealing.
ISSN:1013-9826
1662-9795
1662-9795
DOI:10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.230-232.640