Studies of Nanomechanical Properties of Pulsed Laser Deposited NbN films on Si Using Nanoindentation

Abstract

ABSTRACTNanomechanical and structural properties of pulsed laser deposited niobium nitride thin films were investigated using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and nanoindentation. NbN film reveals cubic δ-NbN structure with the corresponding diffraction peaks from the (111), (200), and (220) planes. The NbN thin films depict highly granular structure, with a wide range of grain sizes that range from 15-40 nm with an average surface roughness of 6 nm. The average modulus of the film is 420±60 GPa, whereas for the substrate the average modulus is 180 GPa, which is considered higher than the average modulus for Si reported in the literature due to pile-up. The hardness of the film increases from an average of 12 GPa for deep indents (Si substrate) measured using XP CSM and load control (LC) modes to an average of 25 GPa measured using the DCM II head in CSM and LC modules. The average hardness of the Si substrate is 12 GPa.