Effect of Sputtering Current on the Structure of TiCrN Thin Films Prepared from Mosaic Target by Reactive DC Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

TiCrN thin films have been prepared using a reactive DC magnetron sputtering system from a mosaic target. The effects of sputtering current, in the range of 300 to 700 mA, on the structure of the thin films were investigated. The crystal structure, microstructure, thickness, and composition were characterized by GI-XRD, FE-SEM and EDS technique, respectively. The results revealed that all the as-deposited films were formed as a (Ti,Cr)N solid solution. The as-deposited TiCrN films showed a nanostructure with a crystallite size less than 70 nm. The crystal sizes of all planes were in the range of 22.2 to 69.9 nm. The lattice constants were in the range of 4.149 Å to 4.175 Å. The thickness increases from 1630 nm to 4910 nm with increasing the sputtering current. The elemental composition (Ti Cr and N contents) of the as-deposited films were varied with the sputtering current. Lastly, the all of the thin films in this work showed compact columnar and dense morphology as a resulted of increasing the sputtering current.