Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T07:54:36.985Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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: aelmusta@odu.edu
Get access

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Chockalingam, S.P., Chand, M., Jesudasan, J., Tripathi, V., and Raychaudhuri, P.: Superconducting properties and Hall effect of epitaxial NbN thin films. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter 77, 214503 (2008).(8 pp.).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Wong, M.S., Sproul, W.D., Chu, X., and Barnett, S.A.: Reactive magnetron sputter deposition of niobium nitride films. J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A 11, 1528 (1993).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Benkahoul, M., Martinez, E., Karimi, A., Sanjines, R., and Levy, F.: Structural and mechanical properties of sputtered cubic and hexagonal NbNx thin films. Surf. Coat. Technol. 180–181, 178 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Oya, G-i. and Onodera, Y.: Phase transformation in nearly stoichiometric NbNx. J. Appl. Phys. 47, 2833 (1976).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Sanjines, R., Benkahoul, M., Papagno, M., Levy, F., and Music, D.: Electronic structure of Nb2N and NbN thin films. J. Appl. Phys. 99, 44911 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Gotoh, Y., Nagao, M., Ura, T., Tsuji, H., and Ishikawa, J.: Ion beam assisted deposition of niobium nitride thin films for vacuum microelectronics devices. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sec. B 148, 925 (1999).Google Scholar
7.Olaya, J.J., Rodil, S.E., and Muhl, S.: Comparative study of niobium nitride coatings deposited by unbalanced and balanced magnetron sputtering. Thin Solid Films 516, 8319 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Senapati, K., Pandey, N.K., Nagar, R., and Budhani, R.C.: Normal-state transport and vortex dynamics in thin films of two structural polymorphs of superconducting NbN. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter 74, 104514 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Sundgren, J.E. and Hentzell, H.T.G.: A review of the present state of art in hard coatings grown from the vapor phase. J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A 4, 2259 (1986).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Hassan, A.F., Oguz, A., Ufukepe, Y., Myneni, G., and Elsayed-Ali, H.E.: Influence of nitrogen background pressure on structure of niobium nitride films grown by pulsed laser deposition. Surf. Coat. Technol. 206, 1168 (2011).Google Scholar
11.Oliver, W.C. and Pharr, G.M.: Measurement of hardness and elastic modulus by instrumented indentation: Advances in understanding and refinements to methodology. J. Mater. Res. 19, 3 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Alfonso, J.E., Buitrago, J., Torres, J., Marco, J.F., and Santos, B.: Influence of fabrication parameters on crystallization, microstructure, and surface composition of NbN thin films deposited by rf magnetron sputtering. J. Mater. Sci. 45, 5528 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Chaudhuri, S., Nevala, M.R., Hakkarainen, T., Niemi, T., and Maasilta, I.J.: Infrared Pulsed Laser Deposition of Niobium Nitride Thin Films, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity. (Piscataway, NJ, 2011), p. 143.Google Scholar
14.Desbiens, E. and El Khakani, M.A.: Growth of high-k silicon oxynitride thin films by means of a pulsed laser deposition-atomic nitrogen plasma source hybrid system for gate dielectric applications. J. Appl. Phys. 94, 5969 (2003).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Musenich, R., Fabbricatore, P., Gemme, G., Parodi, R., Viviani, M., Zhang, B., Buscaglia, V., and Bottino, C.: Growth of niobium nitrides by nitrogen-niobium reaction at high temperature. J. Alloys Compd. 209, 319 (1994).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Zhitomirsky, V.N., Grimberg, I., Rapoport, L., Travitzky, N.A., Boxman, R.L., Goldsmith, S., Raihel, A., Lapsker, I., and Weiss, B.Z.: Structure and mechanical properties of vacuum arc-deposited NbN coatings. Thin Solid Films 326, 134 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Joguet, M., Lengauer, W., Bohn, M., and Bauer, J.: High-temperature reactive phase formation in the Nb-N system. J. Alloys Compd. 269, 233 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Ivashchenko, V.I., Turchi, P.E.A., and Olifan, E.I.: Phase stability and mechanical properties of niobium nitrides. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter 82, 054109 (2010).(9 pp.).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Farha, A.H., Er, A.O., Ufuktepe, Y., Myneni, G., and Elsayed-Ali, H.E.: Effects of substrate temperature on properties of NbN"x films grown on Nb by pulsed laser deposition. Appl. Surf. Sci. 258, 1613 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Tabor, D.: The Hardness of Metals (Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK, 1951).Google Scholar
21.Brooks, C.A., O’Neill, J.B., and Redfern, B.A.: Anisotropy in the hardness of single crystals. Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 322, 73 (1971).Google Scholar