Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with a Nd:YAG laser was used to grow thin films from a pre-synthesized MAX-phase formulated ablation targets onto oxidized Si(1 0 0), MgO(1 0 0) and stainless steel substrates with and without an 200V Ar or nitrogen ion beam directed at the substrate surface during deposition. The depositions were carried out in a substrate temperature range from room temperature to 650°C.

The properties of the films have been investigated by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) for film thickness and stoichiometric composition and X-ray diffraction for the crystallinity of the films. X-ray diffraction measurements for all samples show no signs of the MAX phase Ti3SiC2, but only reflections of crystalline TiC. GDOES measurements however showed that silicon is distributed highly inhomogenously through the films. Even in the samples grown without ion beam there is a diffusion like silicon profile in the samples with an increased silicon concentration at the substrate surface. The application of the ion beam enhances this effect. Diffusion length and concentration gradient of these profiles depend on the deposition temperature and the substrate material. Obviously, the silicon shows a much higher mobility during film growth than the two other elements titanium and carbon, which can be explained by a preferred formation of titanium carbide TiC.

These results for deposition from prefabricated MAX-phase targets will be compared with depositions from elemental targets.

The work is supported by the German Research Foundation under grant DFG Scha 632/10.

This work reports on recent advances in Cathodic Arc Evaporation-PVD process assisted by a medium IR fiber laser (1055-1090nm). The main objective of this study is to improve the mechanical properties of titanium nitride (TiN) coatings by the “in-situ” application of laser in the deposition area during the coating growth process. The modification of the characteristic parameters of the laser source (Frequency, power and beam velocity) allows to obtain different effects, both on the final film properties and also on the substrate if the laser treatment is done before the deposition process. All the coatings have been produced in a commercial METAPLAS PVD chamber equipped with 6 arc sources.

The composition and morphology of these new laser assisted coatings have been studied by FE-SEM and GD-OES, thus changes in the chemical composition profile of the TiN coatings have been observed. The characterization of the films produced includes measurement of the mechanical properties such as film adhesion (scratch test), microhardness and tribology (wear coefficient).

Under special conditions low energy ion sputtering of solid surfaces leads to the formation of regular nanopatterns. These surfaces represent an interesting example of spontaneous pattern formation in non-equilibrium systems exhibiting different features like wavelength coarsening or a transition to spatiotemporal chaos. Different pattern types are observed for different experimental conditions, i.e. wavelike ripple patterns and hexagonally ordered dot arrays under oblique and normal ion incidence, respectively [1]. These patterns have gained increasing interest in recent years as templates for thin film growth.

According to the model of Bradley and Harper (BH) [2], the regular patterns result from the competition between curvature dependent roughening and smoothing of the surface. Since the local erosion rate is higher in the valleys than on crests, the eroded surface is unstable. In the presence of smoothing mechanisms, however, a wave vector selection occurs and a periodic pattern with one spatial frequency is observed. The pattern formation can be described by continuum equations based on the BH model. Several extensions have been proposed in the last years, with the stochastic Kuramoto-Sivashinsky (KS) equation being the most prominent one [3]. However, although most experimental investigations on ion-induced pattern formation were performed under oblique ion incidence, only few theoretical studies focused on the corresponding anisotropic KS (aKS) equation.

We will also present studies of thin film growth on these patterns. Depending on the interface energy of the metal film with the substrate the films grow in a conformal way reproducing the surface topography or as nanoparticles on the substrate surface. Furthermore, depending on deposition angle, substrate temperature, beam flux, and deposition time, the nanoparticles align parallel to the ripples, eventually coalescing and forming nanowires. Metal thin films grown in this way exhibit distinct optical properties due to their localized surface plasmon resonance. Because of the alignment these nanoparticles exhibit a strongly anisotropic plasmonic resonance [4]. In addition, the magnetic properties of ferromagnetic thin films grown on rippled surfaces are drastically change by the presence of the interface and surface periodic roughness [5].

[1] W. L. Chan and E. Chason, J. Appl. Phys. 101, 121301 (2007)

[2] R. Bradley and J. Harper, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 6, 2390 (1988)

[3] R. Cuerno and A.-L. Barabási, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74 4746 (1995)

[4] T.W.H. Oates, A. Keller, S. Facsko, et al., Plasmonics 2, 47 (2007).

[5] M. O. Liedke, B. Liedke, A. Keller, et al., Phys. Rev. B 75, 220407 (2007).