This study represents the new approach to deposit nanocrystalline multicomponent thin films by magnetron sputtering of multiphase composite targets. The composite targets were synthesized from an exothermal mixture of reactant powders by means of Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis method. The films were deposited by reactive bias sputtering either in an atmosphere of argon or in a mixture of argon and nitrogen on the HSS and stainless steel substrates with thickness about 3-4 m micron. The effects of the subs trate temperatures, bias voltages and nitrogen partial pressures on the structure and elemental compositions of the films were studied. The deposited films were characterized with using Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy using selected area electron diffraction and high-resolution techniques.

It has been shown the introduction of the silicon and aluminum into the coating composition on the titanium carbonitride and diboride based (through the composite target) provides the fixing single-phase nanocrystalline films structure. The crystalline, nanocrystalline and amorphous structure is formed in Ti-Si-C-N a films depending on a ratio of elements. Two-phase nanocrystalline structure is formed in Ti-B-N-Al films.

The effects of deposition parameters on the composition, structure, stoichio metry, and microhardness of the films were studied. The dependencies between microhardness, grain size, and stoichiometry of the basic phase were studied. It was shown the films with the size of crystallites about several nanometers, minimum amount of amorphous phase constituent, stoichiometric composition of the crystalline phases , and dense low-defective structure has the best mechanical properties.

In recent years, aluminum nitride (AlN) has attracted a great deal of attention due to its excellent electrical, optical and mechanical properties. The applications of the material have been extended from acoustic wave devices ¹, photonic devices to anti-wear coatings. In this article, polycrystalline AlN thin films with smooth surface are reactively deposited on negatively biased ² Al thin film on glass and Si substrates in room temperature by the long-throat coherent magnetron sputtering. The influences of the target-to-substrate distance and negative bias voltage on the microstructure of the AlN thin films are investigated. The microstructures of the deposited films are examined by X-ray diffractometric measurement (XRD), electron diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

In our long-throat sputtering system, the sputtered particles can be completely thermalized and reach the substrate by diffusion. The deposited AlN films are amorphous when the target is far from the substrate for a bias voltage up to -320 V. When the target-to-substrate distance is decreased to 17 cm a preferred (002) orientation of AlN films is observed at a bias voltage of -240V. Further increasing the bias voltage to -320 V, the peaks of (002) and (101) planes vanish, and the weak peak of (001) plane appears. The diameter of the (002) AlN granular crystals on glass and Si substrates is about 11 nm.

Additionally, the deposited polycrystalline AlN films have specular reflectance and no voids can be observed. The maximum surface roughness is 17.2 ± 6.1 nm with a film thickness of 570 nm. This low temperature thin film processing technique is useful for applications where the thickness uniformity of the deposited films and the step coverage are required and the substrate cannot be heated to high temperature.

¹ Stokes et al, IEEE Trans. on Microwave Theory and Technique, 41, (6), 1075 (1993).
² Lee et al, Thin Solid Films, 271, 50 (1995).