Microstructural characterizations and hardness evaluation of d.c. reactive magnetron sputtered CrN thin films on stainless steel substrate

Chromium nitride (CrN) thin films were deposited on stainless steel (grade: SA304) substrate by using d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering and the influence of process parameters such as substrate temperature, pressure, and power on their microstructural characteristics were investigated in the present work. The CrN films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD) to reveal the formation of different phases and its texture. The films showed the (111) preferred orientation but its intensity decreased, while intensity of peak (200) increased with increase in working pressure. The mixture of CrN and Cr2N phases were identified at low working pressure and temperature. The preferred orientations of CrN thin films are strongly influenced by sputtering conditions, thickness, and the induced residual stress in the films as observed in the present work. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize the morphology and surface topography of thin films, respectively. The study shows that the hardness of films strongly depends on the grain size and the film density, which are influenced by combined effect of the working pressure, temperature, and power of the sputtering process.