A study on the influence of copper content in CrN/Cu nanocomposite thin films prepared by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering.
Synthesis of nanocomposite thin films of CrN/Cu deposited on (100) Si and D-9 alloy substrates by pulsed magnetron sputtering as a function of copper content in the range 15.1-35.8 at.% is investigated. XRD analysis of the films deposited at 773 K with nitrogen flow rate of 10 sccm indicated that the films are nanorystalline and bi-phasic (fcc-CrN and fcc-Cu). Scanning electron microscopy showed a structureless morphology for CrN, while agglomerates were obtained for CrN/Cu nanocomposite thin films. Atomic force microscopy also confirmed the agglomeration of particles with increasing Cu content. The amount of copper content in the nanocomposite films had also shown a significant reduction in the crystallite size of CrN. The nano hardness measurements showed a peak hardness of 17 GPa for the films with copper content of 15.1 at.%. The hardness values were found to decrease significantly with Cu content > 31.1 at.%.
Elangovan
T
T
Physical Metallurgy Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India.
Kuppusami
P
P
Thirumurugesan
R
R
Sudha
C
C
Mohandas
E
E
Mangalaraj
D
D