Abstract
Structure and mechanical properties of nanoscale multilayers of ZrN/Zr0.63Al0.37N grown by reactive magnetron sputtering on MgO (001) substrates at a temperature of 700°C are investigated as a function of the Zr0.63Al0.37N layer thickness. The Zr0.63Al0.37N undergoes in situ chemical segregation into ZrN-rich and AlN-rich domains. The AlN-rich domains undergo transition from cubic to wurtzite crystal structure as a function of Zr0.63Al0.37N layer thickness. Such structural transformation allows systematic variation of hardness as well as fracture resistance of the films. A maximum fracture resistance is achieved for 2nm thick Zr0.63Al0.37N layers where the AlN-rich domains are epitaxially stabilized in the metastable cubic phase. The metastable cubic-AlN phase undergoes stress-induced transformation to wurtzite-AlN when subjected to indentation, which results in the enhanced fracture resistance. A maximum hardness of 34GPa is obtained for 10nm thick Zr0.63Al0.37N layers where the wurtzite-AlN and cubic-ZrN rich domains form semi-coherent interfaces.
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