Initial stages of titanium carbide growth by plasma-sputter deposition on stainless steel

Abstract

The chemistry in the initial stage of growth of plasma-sputter deposited titanium carbide (TiC) on stainless steel has been investigated as a function of substrate and plasma conditions using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In the first stage of the deposition process the plasma-steel interaction results in the formation of free-carbon-like amorphous carbon and polymer-like carbon. We found that the addition of nitrogen (partial pressure two times higher than CH 4) in the initial stages of growth prevents the deposition of free carbon at the interface by the formation of a nitride interface containing nitrides on the substrate surface and titanium nitride (TiN). The synthesis of volatile hydrogen cyanide (HCN) on the substrate surface prevents the formation of free carbon. Our observation suggests that the addition of nitrogen during the initial stages of deposition improves the adhesion as well as the reproducibility of the adhesion of TiC on stainless steels deposited by reactive sputtering techniques.