Titanium Nitride Surface Research Articles

The invisible hand of pre-adsorbates: Unveiling oxygen's role in sculpting Cu–TiN interfaces

Copper (Cu) binding to titanium nitride (TiN) surfaces is important for applications in catalysis, sensing, and electronics. However, achieving controlled and stable Cu attachment remains challenging. In this study, Density Functional Theory with Hubbard U corrections (DFT + U) is employed to investigate how pre-adsorbed oxygen (O) and sulfur (S) influence Cu attachment and the resulting interfacial properties. Contrary to initial expectations, our calculations reveal that the presence of pre-adsorbed O and S significantly weakens the Cu–TiN interface. Direct adsorption of Cu on the TiN surface, without pre-adsorbed species, results in a much higher adsorption energy (−13.94 eV), demonstrating stronger interfacial stability compared to systems with O (−2.06 eV) or S (−1.84 eV) pre-adsorption. Although pre-adsorbed O and S can modify the interface's electronic structure, the introduction of these species ultimately weakens the Cu–TiN interaction rather than enhancing it, as initially hypothesized. Analysis of the density of states (DOS) and charge transfer shows that direct Cu–TiN bonding maintains a more robust interaction, making it more suitable for applications requiring strong metal-ceramic interfaces. These findings highlight the critical role of surface chemistry in controlling the strength of Cu–TiN interfaces. The use of DFT + U calculations provides valuable insights into the bonding mechanisms and electronic changes at these interfaces, informing future design strategies for Cu–TiN systems with tailored properties for advanced technological applications.

Surface Functionalized Titanium Nitride Electrode for CMOS Compatible Bioelectronic Devices.

The development of bioelectronic devices is heading toward high throughput and high resolution. Yet, most electrode materials utilized in electrical biosensing are not compatible with the manufacturing techniques of semiconductor chips, which somehow hinders the integration and miniaturization of these devices. Titanium nitride (TiN) is a durable and economical material that is widely used in CMOS-based integrated circuits, bioelectronic systems, electrocatalytic systems, etc. Considering different application scenarios, new and efficient methods are required to functionalize TiN surface. In this study, a surface functionalization approach by covalent grafting of an organic thin film containing hydroxyl groups on TiN surface via electroreduction of diazonium salt 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)benzenediazonium was presented. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) procedures were carried out at the potential ranges of -0.8 V~0.5 V (vs Ag/AgCl) with varying numbers of potential cycles (i. e., 5, 25, and 50 cycles) in order to study the thickness of modification layer. Then, the electrochemical property, surface morphology, and chemical structures of the sample before and after modifications were investigated via multiple characterization techniques, such as CV, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc., thereby confirming the successful grafting of hydroxyl groups onto the TiN surface. The experiments on DNA synthesis aimed to explore the potential of modified TiN electrode as a novel platform for DNA data storage applications and the corresponding proof-of-principle was accomplished by the process of coupling Cy3-phosphoramidite. Finally, the experiments were successfully reproduced on the randomly selected sites of the modified TiN microarray chips demonstrating the potential of technical protocol to extend applications in future bioelectronic devices, such as bio-sensing, high-throughput DNA synthesis, and molecular manipulation.

Deposition of Polymers on Titanium Nitride Electrodes

The application of titanium nitride (TiN) as an electrode for electrochemical deposition or characterization requires the removal of an insulating layer from its surface. This process was studied and optimized, and the conditions for the complete removal of this layer through treatment with oxalic acid were formulated. The obtained TiN surfaces were used for the deposition of various conducting and non-conducting polymers. Two different approaches were applied: (i) in situ electrochemical synthesis of the main classes of conducting polymers, including polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and selected derivatives thereof, and (ii) electrostatically driven layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of multilayers of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. The deposited polymers were characterized by electrochemical methods. The electrochemical properties of the deposited conducting polymers and their deposition on the TiN surface were comparable to those of the metallic electrodes. The films produced via LbL deposition exhibited a pronounced influence of the charge of the last deposited polymer on the redox reaction of ferri/ferrocyanide, validating the charge alteration with each successive polymer layer deposition. The studied deposition technologies can be used for the modification of TiN surfaces required in applications of this material in chemical sensors and other devices.

Self-brushing for nanopatterning: achieving perpendicular domain orientation in block copolymer thin films.

The self-assembly of thin films of block copolymers (BCPs) with perpendicular domain orientation offers a promising approach for nanopatterning on a variety of substrates, which is required by advanced applications such as ultrasmall transistors in integrated circuits, nanopatterned materials for tissue engineering, and electrocatalysts for fuel cell applications. In this study, we created BCPs with an A-b-(B-r-C) architecture that have blocks with equal surface energy (γair) and that can bind to the substrate, effectively creating a non-preferential substrate coating via self-brushing that enables the formation of through-film perpendicular domains in thin films of BCPs. We employed a thiol-epoxy click reaction to functionalize polystyrene-block-poly(glycidyl methacrylate) with a pair of thiols to generate an A-b-(B-r-C) BCP and tune γair of the B-r-C block. The secondary hydroxyl and thiol ether functionality generated by the click reaction was utilized to bind the BCP to the substrates. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that perpendicular orientation was achieved by simply annealing a thin film of the BCP on the bare substrate without the usual extra step of coating a random copolymer brush on the substrate. The self-brushing capability of the BCP was also examined on gold, platinum, titanium, aluminum nitride, and silicon nitride surfaces. These results demonstrate that self-brushing is a promising approach for achieving perpendicular domain orientation in thin films of BCP for nanopatterning on a variety of useful surfaces.

Efficient electrochemical decomposition of sulfamethoxazole using a novel free-standing TiN anode

The utilization of electrochemical oxidation (EO) processes has become increasingly popular in the field of wastewater treatment, and the robust and sustainable electrode materials were highly desirable for such processes. Among these materials, titanium nitride (TiN) has emerged as a promising candidate due to its unique electronic configuration, which impart ideal electrical conductivity similar to metals, and good stability approaching that of ceramic electrode. This study aimed to develop a free-standing TiN electrode for the EO treatment of refractory antibiotics such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and to evaluate its efficacy for SMX removal. The results showed that the TiN electrode achieved a high SMX removal rate (100% removal at 60 min, kobs = 0.031 min−1). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were utilized to explicate the underlying mechanism, revealing that water oxidation on the TiN surface generates ·OH rather than O2, making TiN an excellent material for the mineralization of recalcitrant SMX. Additionally, both the DFT and LC-MS/MS results demonstrated that the degradation pathway of SMX was induced by ·OH through H-abstraction and electron-transfer pathway, and the active sites responsible for the degradation intermediates were determined by DFT calculation. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the development of effective and environmental benign water purification method using novel, free-standing TiN anode material.

Fluorination of TiN, TiO2, and SiO2 Surfaces by HF toward Selective Atomic Layer Etching (ALE)

As semiconductor devices become miniaturized, the importance of the molecular-level understanding of the fabrication processes is growing. Titanium nitride (TiN) is an important material utilized in various architectural components of semiconductor devices requiring precise control over size and shape. A reported process for atomic layer etching (ALE) of TiN involves surface oxidation into titanium oxide (TiO2) and selective oxidized layer removal by hydrogen fluoride (HF). However, the chemical selectivity of these Ti-based materials in the etching process by HF remains unclear. In this study, computational chemistry methods utilizing density functional theory (DFT) calculations were applied to the fluorination reactions of TiN, TiO2, and SiO2 to identify and compare the surface chemical reactivity of these substrates toward etching processes. It is shown that the materials can be etched using HF, leaving TiF4 and SiF4 as the byproducts. However, while such a TiN reaction is thermodynamically hindered, the etching of TiO2 and SiO2 is suggested to be favorable. Our study provides theoretical insights into the fluorination reactivity of TiN, which has not been reported previously regardless of technological importance. Furthermore, we explore the etching selectivity between TiN, TiO2, and SiO2, which is a crucial factor in the ALE process conditions of TiN.

Theoretical insights into electronic structures and durability of single-atom Pd/TiN catalysts

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to evaluate the metal-support interactions between palladium atom and titanium nitride surface (Pd–TiN). N vacancy sites on defective TiN surface can stabilize Pd single atom under strongly oxidizing conditions, and surface defect-mediated stabilization is accompanied by obvious charge redistributions between Pd and substrate. The adsorption of several gas species on stable Pd–TiN surfaces is also explored to understand catalytic reactions. It is found that O, H, OH, O2, and CO favorably adsorb on Ti atop site, while CO2 and H2 prefer the hollow and Pd atop site, respectively. Moreover, co-adsorption with either H or OH weakens the CO-surface interactions, indicating the CO poisoning effect would be alleviated under both acidic and alkaline conditions. This study provides a perspective to understand the support effect of Pd–TiN, which sheds light on the design of high-performance Pd-based electrodes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).

Interaction mechanism of transition metal phthalocyanines on transition metal nitride supports

We investigated the electronic interactions between transition metal phthalocyanine (TMPc’s) on a refractory transition metal nitride support, specifically copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) on titanium nitride (TiN). X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) results suggest a presence of a few nanometer native oxide layer on the surface of the TiN nanoparticles, which consists of TiN, TiO2, and Titanium oxynitrides (TixOyNz). A TiNCuPc nanocomposite was synthesized via a simple mixing method due to the strong binding between CuPc and TiN confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Both XPS data and DFT calculations revealed an electron transfer from TiN substrate to CuPc molecule. The nature of charge transfer is not influenced by the presence of an oxide layer on the surface of TiN. Substantial deviations are however found between photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) measured work function for TiN (4.68 eV) and theoretically calculated work function for pristine stoichiometric TiN (2.63 eV). This behavior is attributed to the presence of an oxide layer on the TiN surface. TiNCuPc composite system has a work function value between those of TiN and CuPc. Our studies open up an opportunity to apply a new class of materials based on transition metal phthalocyanine/transition metal nitride composites to catalysis and optoelectronic devices.

Effective work function of TiN films: Profound surface effect and controllable aging process

Titanium nitride (TiN), with its tunable work function, serves as an electrode metal in the scaling fin-type field-effect transistor and plays the key role for low threshold operation. Measuring the effective work function of thin TiN films is desirable for rapid evaluation before device fabrication. In this work, Kelvin probe force microscopy is applied to study the impact of various factors on the surface potential of TiN films with an uncertainty below 30 mV. By scraping and gauging the potential evolvement of TiN in different circumstances, it is revealed that the surface effect is the major obstacle to determine the work function of the as-deposited TiN. For thick films, the potential drops over 530 mV for a fresh TiN surface relative to that of an aged one. For TiN films thinner than 5 nm, the potential changes by 290 mV due to surface oxidation. This enables a quantitative assessment on the effective work function as well as the surface charge density of TiN films.

Tunable superhydrophobic titanium nitride surface by ultrafast laser processing

The interaction of water droplets to the engineered hierarchical surface structures depends on the synergy between the topographical and chemical modifications. In this work, we develop an ultrafast laser processing technology to create a robust superhydrophobic nanostructured titanium nitride (TiN) surface. The process is based on the manipulation of the surface geometry and the low-pressure technique's accelerated adsorption of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). The laser-processed surfaces are composed of nanoscale geometry overlapped with porous, spongy structures. The metal oxides formed on the TiN surface were hydrophilic and subjected to accelerated VOC adsorption by low-pressure technique via condensation reaction with surface hydroxyl groups formed by heterolytic adsorption of water molecules from the environment. The decrease of surface energy due to the presence of adsorbed hydrocarbons and the topography of the nanostructures allow the trapping of small volumes of air. The presence of a layer of air favour the Cassie-Baxter state of wetting state. Static contact angles ranging from 155 to 180° have been reached depending on the geometry of the nanostructures. A comparative study of vacuum processed and aged (15 days) samples under atmospheric conditions were also performed. The chemical analysis by XPS demonstrates that the water molecules attached to hydroxyl groups passivate these reactive sites and hinder the adsorption of VOC, decreasing the adsorption rate drastically under aging in atmosphereic conditions. In contrast, it is enhanced under low-pressure conditions due to the reduced amount of water vapour.

Room-Temperature Synthesis of Titanium Nitride Using Metastable Nitrogen

The room-temperature synthesis of titanium nitride (TiN) is presented using the reaction of metastable nitrogen (MSN) with a titanium metal surface. The MSN is generated in a nitrogen glow discharge with plasma-ion filtering using a commercial direct analysis in real time (DART) source. The MSN is flowed over a titanium substrate at ambient pressure producing TiN surfaces that are ultra-clean and suitable for plasmonic applications. This is demonstrated using surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRA), producing a 100-fold signal enhancement. Nitriding using MSN could find general applications in producing nitrided surfaces with small-scale structures.

Eliciting the contribution of TiN to photoelectrochemical performance enhancement of Imma-LaTiO2N at neutral pH

The presence of defects, which act as the recombination hubs for photogenerated charge carriers, hinders the improvement of photocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction of LaTiO2N under visible light irradiation via a four-electron-transfer reaction pathway. Here, we involve titanium nitride (TiN) in a varying content (0–17.8%) to improve the efficiency of charge separation and transport, influencing the photoelectrochemical performance of LaTiO2N. The characterization results confirm the formation of a strong contact between orthorhombic-LaTiO2N and cubic-TiN particles. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurements reveal the inverse dependence between electron transfer phenomena and charge carrier recombination, which allows to understand the trend when modifying LaTiO2N with TiN. In fact, the incorporation of 17.8% TiN in the LaTiO2N:TiN material results in a higher photocurrent. Open-circuit potential (OCP) decay and transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) studies confirm longer lifetimes of charge carriers for increasing amounts of TiN in the synthesized materials. Thus, the main role of TiN is to improve the properties of the semiconductor-electrolyte interface, having verified its impact on the separation and transport of photogenerated charge carriers. Furthermore, computational studies predict that the adsorption of water molecules is favored at the LaTiO2N:TiN surface compared to the individual TiN and LaTiO2N surfaces.

Atomic layer etching of titanium nitride with surface modification by Cl radicals and rapid thermal annealing

Thermal atomic layer etching (ALE) is a promising method for isotropic etching with atomic level precision and high conformality over three-dimensional structures. In this study, a thermal ALE process for titanium nitride (TiN) films was developed using surface modification with a Cl2/Ar downstream plasma followed by infrared (IR) annealing of the films. The oxygen-free Cl2-based plasma was adopted to enable highly selective etching of TiN with regard to various materials. It was confirmed that spontaneous etching of TiN during radical exposure can be suppressed at a surface temperature of −10 °C. Measurements of etch per cycle (EPC) of TiN demonstrated that the EPC is self-limiting with respect to both the radical exposure and IR annealing times. With repeated steps of self-limiting radical exposure and IR annealing, TiN was etched at 2.0 nm/cycle, while no thickness change was observed for poly-Si, SiO2, Si3N4, W, and HfO2. The selectivity to amorphous carbon was higher than 4. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that during surface modification, NClx species sublimate spontaneously, while TiClx species remain in the surface-modified layer on TiN. This TiClx-based modified layer desorbs in the IR annealing step, and the TiN surface then returns to its original condition (pristine TiN) before surface modification.

Hydrothermal oxidation improves corrosion and wear properties of multi-arc ion plated titanium nitride coating for biological application

Surface oxidation is found to improve the osseointegration of titanium nitride (TiN) coatings on implantable titanium devices; nevertheless, systematic studies on effects of oxidation are still needed. In this study, multi-arc ion plated (MAIP) titanium nitride (TiN) coating was hydrothermally oxidized in pure water and then the structural, corrosion and wear properties of the coating were studied. A dense oxide layer of 20–50 nm in thickness is formed on TiN after hydrothermal oxidation above 200 °C. The layer is composed of flat anatase particles with a length of 50–150 nm and smaller anatase nanocrystallines located on their surface. The passivation behavior of TiN becomes much stronger in simulated saliva after oxidation treatment, showing a wider passivation range, a lower corrosion current and greatly improved impedance. In addition, the open circuit potential (OCP) of oxidized TiN remains much higher than that of untreated after 50 days of immersion. Sliding friction experiments against zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic balls show that the wear type for the untreated TiN coating involves severe plowing and deformation. In contrast, only slight plowing is found on the surface of TiN covered with a compact anatase layer; the friction coefficient decreases sharply and the wear loss decreases obviously.

Combining Experimental and DFT Investigation of the Mechanism Involved in Thermal Etching of Titanium Nitride Using Alternate Exposures of NbF5 and CCl4, or CCl4 Only

AbstractThermally activated chemical vapor‐phase etching of titanium nitride (TiN) is studied by utilizing either alternate exposures of niobium pentafluoride (NbF5) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or by using CCl4 alone. Nitrogen (N2) gas purge steps are carried out in between every reactant exposure. Titanium nitride is etched in a non‐self‐limiting way by NbF5–CCl4 based binary chemistry or by CCl4 at temperatures between 370 and 460 °C. Spectroscopic ellipsometry and a weight balance are used to calculate the etch per cycle. For the binary chemistry, an etch per cycle of ≈0.8 Å is obtained for 0.5 and 3 s long exposures of NbF5 and CCl4, respectively at 460 °C. On the contrary, under the same conditions, the etch process with CCl4 alone gives an etch per cycle of about 0.5 Å. In the CCl4‐only etch process, the thickness of TiN films removed at 460 °C varies linearly with the number of etch cycles. Furthermore, CCl4 alone is able to etch TiN selectively over other materials such as Al2O3, SiO2, and Si3N4. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and bright field transmission electron microscopy are used for studying the post‐etch surfaces. To understand possible reaction products and energetics, first‐principles calculations are carried out with density functional theory. From thermochemical analysis of possible reaction models, it is found that NbF5 alone cannot etch TiN while CCl4 alone can etch it at high temperatures. The predicted byproducts of the reaction between the CCl4 gas molecules and TiN surface are TiCl3 and ClCN. Similarly, TiF4, NbFCl3, and ClCN are predicted to be the likely products when TiN is exposed to both NbF5 and CCl4. A more favorable etch reaction is predicted when TiN is exposed to both NbF5 and CCl4 (ΔG = −2.7 eV at 640 K) as compared to exposure to CCl4 only (ΔG = −2 eV at 640 K) process. This indicates that an enhanced etch rate is possible when TiN is exposed alternately to both NbF5 and CCl4, which is in close agreement with the experimental results.

TiN formation on Ti target by laser ablation method under different N2 gas pressure and laser scanning cycles: A wettability study

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys have vast applications in industry. However, surface modification technology should be performed to maintain Ti properties for its use in a variety of applications. Titanium nitride (TiN) is often used as a coating to improve surface properties due to its special characteristics. In this research, the laser ablation method is applied on Ti target in N2 atmosphere to make TiN structure using a fiber laser. The different N2 gas pressures and the number of laser scanning cycle effect was investigated on the formation of TiN structure. Different techniques were utilized to scrutinize samples. It was concluded that increasing the laser scanning cycle has a greater effect on the amount and quality of TiN structure compared to the change of N2 gas pressure. The aging effect on ablated surface wettability of samples was assessed by water contact angle (WCA) measurement. The samples illustrated superhydrophilic behavior immediately after laser processing and became hydrophobic over time. Due to the fact that the surface morphology didn't change with the aging effect, the wettability changing is due to the surface chemical composition by the oxidation process and adsorption of the airborne organic compounds of TiN surface by the effect of the long-term storage of ablated sample in the air that was studied by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Towards ultrahigh-energy-density flexible aqueous rechargeable Ni//Bi batteries: Free-standing hierarchical nanowire arrays core-shell heterostructures system

Fiber-shaped energy storage devices featuring characteristics of macroscopic one-dimension, light weight, super-flexibility, and weavability demonstrate promising prospects for a category of crucial fields such as portable and wearable electronics. Particularly, fiber-shaped aqueous rechargeable (FAR) Ni//Bi batteries can further promote the development of wearable electronics due to their characteristics of low cost, flat discharge plateau, and no dendrite growth. However, it is currently challenging to simultaneously achieve high energy and power densities, and safety, which has seriously restricted their promising applications. Herein, a new type of FAR Ni//Bi battery with extraordinary electrochemical performance is created from hierarchical core-shell heterostructured electrodes, where bismuth trioxide (Bi2O3) nanosheets (NSs) directly grown on the surface of titanium nitride (TiN) nanowire arrays (NWAs) act as the anode while nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) NSs anchored on zinc doping cobalt-nickel-oxide (Zn-CoNiO2) NWAs surface act as the cathode. Our as-assembled FAR Ni//Bi battery demonstrates ultrahigh energy density of 314.96 mWh cm−3 and remarkable power density of 20.04 W cm−3 with 88.6% capacity retention after 5000 cycles, which significantly outperform most state-of-the-art FAR batteries. This study offers a comprehensive and efficient strategy to develop high-performance aqueous rechargeable batteries by designing hierarchical core-shell heterostructured electrodes.

Formation of Titanium Nitride, Titanium Carbide, and Silicon Carbide Surfaces by High Power Femtosecond Laser Treatment.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Prof. Eike G. Hübner at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI, Goslar and Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany. The cover picture shows a titanium plate, on which the crystal structure (golden circle=Ti, blue circle=O/N/C) of isomorphous TiO, TiN or TiC, respectively, has been engraved by a high-power high pulse repetition rate femtosecond laser process. The process allows for a fast and spatially resolved surface transformation of titanium to golden TiN, blue TiO/TiO2 or black TiC in an atmosphere of nitrogen, air or ethene/argon. The background represents a typical surface microstructure of these interstitial compounds obtained during this transformation. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/cplu.202100118.

Sputtered titanium nitride films on nanowires Si substrate as pseudocapacitive electrode for supercapacitors

Titanium nitride (TiN) is widely used in electrode materials in fast charging/discharging supercapacitors (SCs) due to its outstanding conductivity. However, the low capacitance of the TiN electrode limits its further application in the SCs. Therefore, the reasonable design of the TiN electrode with high electrochemical and mechanical properties is still a challenge. In this paper, the silicon nanowires/titanium nitride electrode (Si NWs/TiN) is prepared by depositing TiN onto the etched Si nanowires by direct current magnetron sputtering. The Si NWs are prepared by etching silicon in 4.8 M HF/0.02 M AgNO3 aqueous solution for different times (5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 60 min). The mechanism of the effect of etched silicon substrate morphology on the electrochemical performance of Si NWs/TiN electrode was studied. As the etching time increases, the differences of the TiN surface structure, lattice defects and surface chemical composition will change the capacitance performance and charge storage mechanism of the Si NWs/TiN electrode. The prepared Si30 NWs/TiN electrode exhibits an outstanding specific capacitance as high as 113.55 F g−1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 with 0.5 M H2SO4 solution as electrolyte. The specific capacitance of the Si30 NWs/TiN electrode is as high as 7.5 times that of the electrode without etching at 100 mV s−1. The Si30 NWs/TiN electrode has an excellent cyclic stability performance, which the electrode has a decay rate of 12.4% after 2000 cycles. This indicates that the electrode has reliable stability. The electrode of the supercapacitor prepared by this method can open up a new way to expand the specific surface area of other transition metal nitride.

Formation of Titanium Nitride, Titanium Carbide, and Silicon Carbide Surfaces by High Power Femtosecond Laser Treatment.

Coatings based on titanium nitrides, titanium carbides and silicon carbides can optimize the surface properties of titanium or silicon for various applications ranging from biocompatibility to chemical stability and durability. Here, we investigated a high power (100 W) high pulse repetition rate femtosecond laser process (λ=1030 nm, τ=750 fs, f=1 MHz) for the treatment of titanium and silicon in atmospheres of argon, nitrogen, methane, ethene and acetylene. In a nitrogen atmosphere, a homogeneous coating of TiON is formed on titanium. In an ethene/argon atmosphere coatings of TiOC and SiC are formed on Ti and Si, respectively. The process allows a fast surface transformation with a process rate of 0.33 cm2 s-1 and a high spatial resolution below 0.5 mm with a minimal heat affected zone at the same time. In contrast to low repetition rate femtosecond laser processed samples, the surfaces are more robust against mechanical impact. At the same time, the surfaces reveal a distinct microstructure in comparison to coatings obtained by vapor deposition techniques.