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Temperature Effect on Crystal Structure, Phase Formation and Nanomechanical Properties of PLD-Grown NbNx Thin Films

This study investigates the impact of temperature on the crystal structure, phase formation, and nanomechanical properties of NbNx thin films deposited using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). XRD, SEM, and AFM were used to characterize the phase, microstructure, and surface morphology of the films, while nanoindentation was performed to examine their mechanical properties. Results showed a clear influence of temperature on the hardness and crystallite sizes of the NbNx films.

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Temperature Effect on Crystal Structure, Phase Formation and Nanomechanical Properties of PLD-Grown NbNx Thin Films

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  1. Temperature Effect on Crystal Structure, Phase Formation and Nanomechanical Properties of Pulsed Laser Deposited NbNx Thin Films Electron gun Nitrogen gas line Ablated species Nb target Focused laser beam Phosphor screen CCD camera A. H. Farha1,3, M. A. Mamun2,3, H. E. Elsayed-Ali1,3 and A. A. Elmustafa2,3 1Electrical and ComputerEngineering & 2Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, ODU, Norfolk, VA 235293Applied Research Center, Jefferson Lab, Newport News, VA 23606 Abstract Results and Discussion • NbNx films grown on Nb using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). • Samples were tested for phase characterization, microstructure, and surface morphology using XRD, SEM & AFM. • Nanoindentation was used to examine nanomechanical properties as a function of crystal structure of NbNx films. • X-ray diffraction reveals peaks correspond to δ-NbN cubic and β-Nb2N hexagonal phases in addition to δ-NbN hexagonal phase. • Clear effects of crystal structures on the hardness of the PLD-grown NbNx thin films. Sample holder Digital Instruments Dimension 3100 (AFM) Experiment • PLD at nitrogen gas pressure 100 mTorr in static conditions was used to grow NbNx films on Nb substrate (8.6 × 6.6 × 0.7 mm3) at different temperatures in range 250-850 °C. • Same procedures were repeated without PLD to check any possibility for nitride formation due to the substrate heating. • EPMA was used to determine the chemical composition (N/Nb = x). • XRD, SEM and AFM were done. • A nanoindenter XP equipped with a dynamic contact module (DCM ) used for nanomechanical investigations. Load Profile from Nanoindentation Test: Load versus displacement into surface curves for hardness and modulus tip calibration method. Agilent Technologies nanoindenter XP (Mechanical properties) Cameca SX100 (EPMA) Bruker-AXS three-circle diffractometer (XRD) Summary and Conclusion • The change of the substrate temperature during deposition of NbNx films shows considerable effects on phase formation , crystallinity , morphologies, and nanomechanical properties of the films. • No any possibilities of nitridation due to thermal effect were verified. • The atomic ratio of nitrogen in the films depends on the substrate temperature. • A systematic increase in lattice parameters with substrate deposition temperature along with an increase in the size of the grains was observed. • XRD AFM and nanoindentation results showed that the crystallite sizes and surface roughness of the NbNx films increase as the substrate temperature increases. JEOL JSM-6060 LV (SEM)

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