Abstract
For the IBAD coating of practical 3-D samples, effects of off-normal ion incidence on thin film properties have to be studied. Different growth conditions lead to different film microstructures. Thin films of TiN, made by reactive IBAD using a 12 kV argon beam, have been grown with an ion-to-atom ratio varying from 0 to 0.14 and an ion-beam incidence varying from normal to 55 ° off-normal. The elasto-plastic properties of the films were determined by analysing the data from depth-sensing indentation measurements. Three different types of behaviour are observed, corresponding to different kinds of microstructures. Hardness and Young's modulus of the films are dependent on the growth conditions. The consequence for practical applications of coatings of complex shape is that only carefully designed object-handling can prevent inhomogeneous film properties.
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