Sccm Oxygen Flow Research Articles

Deposition of zirconium oxynitride films by reactive cathodic arc evaporation and investigation of physical properties

The area of metal oxynitrides is poorly explored, and understanding of the fundamental mechanism that explains structural, mechanical, electrical, and optical properties is still insufficient. Therefore, the purpose of the present investigation is to analyze structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZrNxOy films deposited by reactive cathodic arc evaporation.Depending on the oxygen flow, cubic ZrN:O, monoclinic ZrO2:N, and tetragonal ZrO2:N phases films were prepared. The sheet resistance and the optical transmittance very much depend on the oxygen flow. Optical transparent ZrNxOy films with transmittance of 86% at 650 nm, the sheet resistance 1.1·103 Ω/sq, and the figure of merit 2·10−4 Ω−1 are deposited with the 60 sccm oxygen flow.

Ion-assisted sputtering deposition of antireflection film coating for flexible liquid-crystal display applications

The optical properties and surface morphologies of sputtering films both without and with use of the ion-assisted deposition (IAD) technique are investigated and compared. Optimal antireflection (AR) coating films with SiO2/Nb2O5 layers, which are grown at 80 degrees C with a 15 cm distance between target and substrate, 55 SCCM oxygen flow (SCCM denotes cubic centimeters per minute at STP), and 1250 W magnetron sputtering power with use of the IAD technique, are used to study the optical performance. By using an atomic force microscope to investigate the surface of the sputtered Nb2O5 films, we find that the films' roughness is 0.185 nm. On a flexible hardness polycarbonate (HPC) substrate with the multilayer AR films, the peak transmittances measured in the visible range are 95.89% and 93.40%, respectively, for coatings with and without use of the IAD sputtering technology. These results are better than those measured with a bare HPC substrate (91.25%) and are well above the commercial liquid-crystal display standard (90%) and flexible application.

Condensation of tetragonal zirconia polycrystals by reactive sputtering

Reactive sputtering on metallic Zr target under various oxygen flow rates was employed to produce nanocrystalline zirconia condensates, which were collected on a carbon-coated collodion film for analytical electron microscopic observations. With an Ar flow rate of 28 sccm, the collected condensates are cubic and tetragonal (t-) zirconia less than 10 nm in size under 0–2 sccm oxygen flow rate and increased to 10–20 nm in size with partial t- to monoclinic (m-) zirconia transformation at 3 sccm. Between 4 and 4.5 sccm, t-zirconia polycrystals (TZP) about 20 nm in grain size were formed by coalescence of the t-zirconia condensates. Above 6 sccm, the (111) and {100} specific coalescence as well as random attachment prevailed to form larger (> 30 nm) individual condensates of m-zirconia as the critical size of martensitic t–m transformation is exceeded. The TZP formation can be accounted for by the small grain size, the presence of low-valence Zr cation and the lateral constraint of neighboring grains.

Preparation and characterization of tantalum oxide films produced by reactive DC magnetron sputtering

We report on the influence of oxygen flow rate on structure, composition, density, deposition stress and optical properties of the as-deposited tantalum oxide thin films. The films were prepared by reactive direct current magnetron sputtering. The sputter current and total pressure were kept constant at 300 mA and 0.8 Pa, respectively. We could deposit fully transparent films at a rate of approximatey 6 nm/min. without noticeable substrate warming from the plasma. Grazing angle XRD showed the films to be amorphous at all oxygen flow rates. Simulations to RBS data revealed, within errors, stoichiometric films above 2 sccm oxygen flow. Moreover argon incorporation in the films above 2 sccm oxygen flow was noted. The density was found to steeply decrease upto 2 sccm followed by a very slow linear decrease with oxygen flow as deduced from X-ray reflectometry. The refractive index, the extinction coefficient and the band gap energy were all obtained by optical spectroscopy. A band gap which increased from 4.17 to 4.23 eV with oxygen flow was determined for films in the transparent region. A characteristic of the defects in the film, γ, which is obtained by simulating the optical spectra, was found to decrease from 85 meV at 6 sccm to 60 meV at 15 sccm oxygen flow. There was no significant change in γ above 15 sccm. On the other hand the refractive index and the extinction coefficient were found to slightly decrease with increasing oxygen flow for the transparent films. Stress data revealed the films to be under some compressive stress upon deposition. The stress decreased with increasing oxygen flow and stabilized at roughly –250 MPa above 6 sccm oxygen flow.

The reactive magnetron deposition of CrNxOy films: first results of property investigations

Abstract Pure nitride films (TiN, CrN) are good wear resistant materials. For applications at high temperatures they have the disadvantage of a low corrosion stability. To avoid this we have tried to change the chemical composition by a reactive magnetron sputtering process with an oxygen–nitrogen working gas. X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations show a well-oriented (100) structure for pure CrN films. An increasing oxygen flow results in a Cr 2 O 3 -based structure with at first a (001) texture and then a (110) texture. Pure oxide films are composed of the Cr 2 O 3 -phase with a (110) texture. Grain size and microstrain influence the mechanical properties. The microhardness of the CrN x O y films reaches the values of pure CrN films. The nitrogen content was, in every case, lower than atomic 5% except at a 2.5 sccm oxygen flow and a 15 sccm nitrogen flow (12 at.%). The flow of 2.5 sccm oxygen relates to an amorphous structure.