The combination of useful properties, such as high stiffness, machinability, low friction, thermal stability, and electrical and thermal conductivity has triggered materials research on the so-called MAX-phases during the last decade. These are nano-layered materials with a chemical composition M_nAX_n-1 (M=early transition metal, A=A-group element, and X is either C or N) with Ti₃SiC₂ being the most well characterized MAX-phase, although it has, until now, only been synthesized as polycrystalline bulk material.

We report here on the first synthesis of single phase and single crystal Ti₃SiC₂ thin film material. The films were grown using two different PVD deposition processes onto an epitaxial TiC-seed layer on MgO(111) substrates. The first method is co-sputtering of Ti and Si from individual magnetron sources with C supplied by C₆₀ evaporation. The second method is sputter deposition from a stoichiometric Ti₂SiC₂ target. At substrate temperatures above 900°C, XRD as well as HR-TEM showed single phase single crystal Ti₃SiC₂ formation on the substrate, with the epitaxial relationships Ti₃SiC₂(0001)//TiC(111)//MgO(111) and T₃SiC₂[1000]//TiC[101]MgO[101], using both processes. At 800°C, the C₆₀ based process yielded a mixture of epitaxial Ti₃SiC₂ and Ti₄SiC₃. Homogenous stoichiometric films were formed under all deposition conditions as measured by energy filtered TEM and XPS depth profiling. Friction measurements, using a Hysitron triboscope, have been performed and will be reported on and nano-indentation measurements indicate hardness and elastic modulus values up to 20 Gpa and 350 GPa, respectively, independent of deposition method. These findings have implications for wear-protective low-friction coatings on a range of components, not the least electrical contacts.