Structural, mechanical, electrical and wetting properties of ZrNx films deposited by Ar/N2 vacuum arc discharge: Effect of nitrogen partial pressure

Non-stiochiometric zirconium nitride (ZrNx) thin films have been deposited on silicon substrates by vacuum arc discharge of (N-2 + Ar) gas mixtures at different N-2 partial pressure ratio. The microstructure, mechanical, electrical and wetting properties of these films are studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy, Rutherford back scattering (RBS) technique, conventional micro-hardness testing, electrical resistivity, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle (CA) measurements. RBS results and analysis show that the (N/Zr) ratio in the film increases with increasing the N-2 partial pressure. A ZrNx film with (Zr/N) ratio in the vicinity of stoichiometric ZrN is obtained at N-2 partial pressure of 10%. XRD and Raman results indicate that all deposited films have strained cubic crystal phase of ZrN, regardless of the N-2 partial pressure. On increasing the N-2 partial pressure, the relative intensity of (1 1 1) orientation with respect to (2 0 0) orientation is seen to decrease. The effect of N-2 partial pressure on micro-hardness and the resistivity of the deposited film is revealed and correlated to the alteration of grain size, crystallographic texture, stoichiometry and residual stress developed in the film. In particular, it is found that residual stress and nitrogen incorporation in the film play crucial role in the alteration of micro-hardness and resistivity respectively. In addition, CA and AFM results demonstrate that as N-2 partial pressure increases, both the surface hydrophobicity and roughness of the deposited film increase, leading to a significant decrease in the film surface free energy (SFE). (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.