ZrCuAlNi thin film metallic glass grown by high power impulse and direct current magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Abstract High-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) is a thin film deposition technique that combines the advantages of energetic deposition methods with magnetron sputtering. HiPIMS has so far mostly been utilized for the growth of crystalline coatings. Here we offer a study devoted to metallic glasses, in which we compare Zr60Cu25Al10Ni5 (target composition) thin films deposited by conventional direct current magnetron sputtering (DC) and HiPIMS. Film microstructure is strongly dependent on the choice of the sputtering method. The DC layers show a columnar structure with intra-columnar porosity, which provides a pathway for oxygen diffusion into the film. In contrast, HiPIMS films are column-free and possess about 4% higher density, as revealed by X-ray reflectivity. Electron diffraction reveals a decrease in average atomic spacing for the latter film of about 12%. These differences in film properties and morphology can be attributed to an increase in ad-atom mobility during HiPIMS caused by an increase in ion energy and flux of the film-forming species enabling a more efficient energy and momentum transfer to the growing film surface. The relative contribution of metallic and hence film forming ions to the overall ion flux of the DC plasma compared to the HiPIMS plasma is 13% and 96%, respectively. Additionally, a substrate bias causes the ionized film forming species during HiPIMS to arrive close to the substrate normal reducing shadowing effects. Different microstructures have a direct effect on the average roughness values, which for DC and HiPIMS films are 1.4 nm and 0.2 nm, respectively. The indentation hardness H and Young's modulus E are higher for the HiPIMS sample, at 9.2 ± 0.3 GPa and 131.6 ± 3.6 GPa, respectively. The increase in hardness for the HiPIMS sample as compared to the DC sample (~35%) can be attributed to higher film density, compressive (HiPIMS) as opposed to tensile (DC) stress and the lack of a columnar structure.