Abstract
TiN–Fe films with various iron concentrations were deposited on Si and NaCl single-crystal substrates by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering. The structure and chemical composition of the films were examined by x-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive x-ray and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effects of Fe addition on the structural, mechanical and magnetic properties of TiN films were studied. XRD and HRTEM revealed for TiN–Fe a cubic B-1 structure while no sign of an iron phase was observed. It was found that the lattice parameter and the grain size decreased with an increase in the Fe/Ti atomic ratio. At Fe/Ti = 0.2, the XRD revealed a change in the preferential orientation from (1 1 1) to (2 0 0) with a tendency of line broadening as the iron concentration increased. The Fe 2p core level peak of XPS indicates that the greater part of Fe atoms in TiN–Fe films exists as free pure metallic iron while the lesser part was in the form of iron oxide. Film annealing at 500 and 600 °C led to iron precipitation of the α-Fe phase indicating that below 500 °C Fe–TiN, films can be considered as nanocomposites materials, as confirmed by nanoindentation measurements and HRTEM observations.
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