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Al incorporation into the InGaN films has been successfully attained from the cermet targets under the working temperature of 200 °C and output power of 120 W by the RF sputtering technique. We used energy dispersive spectroscopy to analyze the compositions of the AlxInyGa1−x−yN, and X-ray diffractometry and atomic force microscopy had been taken to obtain the crystal structure and growth characteristics of the AlInGaN films. Composition-affected electrical properties of the films had been discussed by the Hall measurement, which also identified the incorporation of Al into the InGaN film in this work. A simple n-AlInGaN/p-Si diode is designed to illustrate the potential application of the sputtered AlInGaN in an electrical device.

The authors thank the Junta de Andalucia (P12-FQM-2265) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Projects MAT2013-42900-P, MAT2013-40852-R, MINECO-CSIC 201560E055) for financial support.

The CrAlN/SiO2 nanomultilayered films with different SiO2 layers thickness were synthesized by reactive magnetron sputtering. The effects of SiO2 layer thickness on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CrAlN/SiO2 nanomultilayered films were studied. The results reveal that, when SiO2 layer thickness is less than 0.7 nm, originally amorphous SiO2 layers can be forced to crystallize under the “template effect” of NaCl-structured CrAlN layers and grow epitaxially with them, resulting in the preservation of columnar growth structure and remarkable superhardness effect with the maximum value of hardness of 38.9 GPa. As the SiO2 layer thickness exceeds 0.7 nm, however, SiO2 layers transform back into amorphous state, which destructs the epitaxial structure between CrAlN and SiO2 layers, leading to disappearance of columnar growth character and decrease of mechanical properties. The superhardness effect of CrAlN/SiO2 nanomultilayered film can be attributed to the joint effects of modulus-difference and alternating-stress strengthening mechanisms.

VSiN coatings with silicon content ranging from 0 to 19.8 at.% were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The structure, mechanical, tribological properties and corrosion performance were investigated. The results show that VSiN coatings consist of a mixture of fcc-VN, h-V 2 N, amorphous Si 3 N 4 phases with slight (111) preferential orientation. The hardness, H/E and H 3 /E 2 ratios of VSiN coatings first increase and then decrease and the maximum values are 27 GPa, 0.098 and 0.325 GPa, respectively, at 10.2 at.% Si. The friction coefficient and wear rate first decrease and then increase with increasing the silicon content. The minimum values of 0.35 and 5.1 × 10 − 6 mm 3 ·N − 1 mm − 1 are obtained at 10.2 at.% Si, respectively. The corrosion resistance of the substrate coated with VN or VSiN coatings is superior to the bare substrate.

Nanocomposite coatings on the basis of Si-Al-N with different ratios of Al and Si concentrations were prepared using the reactive magnetron sputtering method. Internal stresses and structural-phase state of the two types of coatings was examined by X-ray analysis. The microhardness was measured by nanoindentation method. The microhardness, the elastic modulus and the coefficient of elastic recovery were determined. The optical transmission was measured for all types of samples.

Metallic sputtering may be used to clean the target surface in the course of coating application by reactive magnetron sputtering. The introduction of additional stages of metallic sputtering in reactive magnetron sputtering increases the growth rate of CrN/AlN coatings by around 23%, with little change in physicomechanical properties.

The plasma diagnostics of dc magnetron reactive sputtered copper nitride thin films by Optical emission spectrometer (OES) is investigated and argon / nitrogen effect (Ar/N2) mixture ratio on plasma parameters and structural properties of sputtered Cu3N thin films are discussed. Cu3N thin films of 60.30 nm and 105 nm have been formed on glass substrates at room temperature using Ar(70)/N2(30) and Ar(50)/N2(50) working gas discharges respectively. The size of crystallites, grains and particles in the copper nitride thin films have been estimated from X-ray diffractions, Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), and Field Emission Scanning microscope (FESEM) respectively. The properties of sputtered copper nitride thin films are related to the plasma parameter of electrons temperature and density.. An increase in optical transmittance and a decrease in absorbance over the wavelength range were found as the nitrogen percentage increased which result on decrease the film thicknesses. The energy of the optical band gap, Eg obtained in the range of 2.6 to 2.7 eV.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) based photocatalysis has been among the most popular advanced oxidation processes in environmental applications in past several decades due to its low cost, nontoxicity, and relatively high oxidizing ability, although suffering from relatively low pollutant decomposition efficiency. Here we present a study on the enhancement of efficiency of thin TiO2 film produced by reactive magnetron sputtering on an interference lithography-processed support, thus increasing the surface area. The efficiency of differently patterned samples was demonstrated by decolorization of methylene blue. The three fold enhancement of the photocatalytic efficiency was observed due to surface area enlargement, and additionally due to multiple UV light reflections.

This work focuses on the effect of Ni on the tribological and milling performance of NbC–Ni films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. High temperature tribological performance of films was studied through reciprocating dry sliding experiments. The milling performance of the coatings was evaluated in a CNC machining center. Results showed that the coefficient of friction of the Nb0.43Ni0.13C0.44 film was the lowest at room temperature, whereas, at high temperature, it was not significantly changed for the films with lower Ni content. It decreased for the Nb0.36Ni0.24C0.40 film. The flank wear resistance was enhanced when compared to the uncoated tool. Crater wear and severe chipping were the main wear mechanisms observed for the uncoated tool, while the coated tools evidenced mainly adhesive and abrasive wear and nose chipping.

Multi-component nitride thin films in the Al-Cr-Nb-Y-Zr system with non-equimolar composition have been deposited by reactive dc magnetron sputtering. The substrate temperature and substrate bias h ...

It has been recently demonstrated that yttrium oxyhydride (YHO) films can exhibit reversible photochromic properties when exposed to illumination at ambient conditions. This switchable optical property enables their utilization in many technological applications, such as smart windows, sensors, goggles, and medical devices. However, how the composition of the films affects their optical properties is not fully clear and therefore demands an investigation. In this paper, the composition of YHO films manufactured by reactive magnetron sputtering under different conditions is deduced in a ternary diagram from time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis. The results suggest that stable compounds are formed with a specific chemical formula---$\mathrm{Y}{\mathrm{H}}_{2\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\delta}}{\mathrm{O}}_{\ensuremath{\delta}}$. In addition, optical and electrical properties of the films are investigated, and a correlation with their compositions is established. The corresponding photochromic response is found in a specific oxygen concentration range ($0.45l\ensuremath{\delta}l1.5$) with maximum and minimum of magnitude on the lower and higher border, respectively.

Copper oxide films have been successfully deposited onto glass/Si(100) substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/O2 gas mixtures, while varying oxygen flow rate. The obtained results based on the structure and magnetic properties are discussed. Depending on the oxygen flow rate, the films reveal different phases and morphologies of Cu2O, Cu4O3 and CuO. In addition, the magnetic properties of the copper oxides thin films are found to be strongly influenced by the oxygen flow rate; the ferro–para transition is influenced by the formation/cancellation of point defects.

Silicon nitride and silicon nitride-based ceramics have several favorable material properties, such as high hardness and good wear resistance, which makes them important materials for the coating industry. This thesis focuses the synthesis of silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon carbonitride thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering. The films were characterized based on their chemical composition, chemical bonding structure, and mechanical properties to link the growth conditions to the film properties. Silicon nitride films were synthesized by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) from a Si target in Ar/N2 atmospheres, whereas silicon oxynitride films were grown by using nitrous oxide as the reactive gas. Silicon carbonitride was synthesized by two different methods. The first method was using acetylene (C2H2) in addition to N2 in a Si HiPIMS process and the other was co-sputtering of Si and C, using HiPIMS for Si and direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) for graphite targets in an Ar/N2 atmosphere. Langmuir probe measurements were carried out for the silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride processes and positive ion mass spectrometry for the silicon nitride processes to gain further understanding on the plasma conditions during film growth. The target current and voltage waveforms of the reactive HiPIMS processes were evaluated. The main deposition parameter affecting the nitrogen concentration of silicon nitride films was found to be the nitrogen content in the plasma. Films with nitrogen contents of 50 at.% were deposited at N2/Ar flow ratios of 0.3 and above. These films showed Si-N as the dominating component in Si 2p X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) core level spectra and Si–Si bonds were absent. The substrate temperature and target power were found to affect the nitrogen content to a lower extent. The residual stress and hardness of the films were found to increase with the film nitrogen content. Another factors influencing the coating stress were the process pressure, negative substrate bias, substrate temperature, and HiPIMS pulse energy. Silicon nitride coatings with good adhesion and low levels of compressive residual stress were grown by using a pressure of 600 mPa, a substrate temperature below 200 °C, pulse energies below 2.5 Ws, and negative bias voltages up to 100 V. The elemental composition of silicon oxynitride films was shown to depend on the target power settings as well as on the nitrous oxide flow rate. Silicon oxide-like films were synthesized under poisoned target surface conditions, whereas films deposited in the transition regime between poisoned and metallic conditions showed higher nitrogen concentrations. The nitrogen content of the films deposited in the transition region was controlled by the applied gas flow rate. The applied target power did not affect the nitrogen concentration in the transition regime, while the oxygen content increased at decreasing target powers. The chemical composition of the films was shown to range from silicon-rich to effectively stoichiometric silicon oxynitrides, where no Si–Si contributions were found in the XPS Si 2p core level spectra. The film optical properties, namely the refractive index and extinction coefficient, were shown to depend on the film chemical bonding, with the stoichiometric films displaying optical properties falling between those of silicon oxide and silicon nitride. The properties of silicon carbonitride films were greatly influenced by the synthesis method. The films deposited by HiPIMS using acetylene as the carbon source showed silicon nitride-like mechanical properties, such as a hardness of ~ 20 GPa and compressive residual stresses of 1.7 – 1.9 GPa, up to film carbon contents of 30 at.%. At larger film carbon contents the films had increasingly amorphous carbon-like properties, such as densities below 2 g/cm3 and hardnesses below 10 GPa. The films with more than 30 at.% carbon also showed columnar morphologies in cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy, whereas films with lower carbon content showed dense morphologies. Due to the use of acetylene the carbonitride films contained hydrogen, up to ~ 15 at.%. The co-sputtered silicon carbonitride films showed a layered SiNx/CNx structure. The hardness of these films increased with the film carbon content, reaching a maximum of 18 GPa at a film carbon content of 12 at.%. Comparatively hard and low stressed films were grown by co-sputtering using a C target power of 1200 W for a C content around 12 at.%, a negative substrate bias less than 100 V, and a substrate temperature up to 340 °C.

MoOx thin films were deposited are deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering at different technological conditions. Structural, electrical and optical properties of the thin films were investigated. Temperature dependences of the resistance R of the MoOx films were measured within the temperature range T ÷ 295-420 K. There was established that all samples under investigation had n-type of conductivity. Based on the dependences α2 = f(hν ), the presence of direct allowed interband optical transitions in the MoOx thin films is established and the optical band gap values are determined.

Quaternary Ti–B–C–N coatings with various carbon contents were deposited on high-speed steel (HSS) substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS) system. The elevated-temperature tribological behavior of Ti–B–C–N coatings was explored using pin-on-disk tribometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The present results show that the steady-state friction coefficient value and the instantaneous friction coefficient fluctuation range of Ti–B–C–N coatings decrease as carbon content increases at 100 and 300 °C, while the steady-state friction coefficient value of all Ti–B–C–N coatings becomes higher than 0.4 at 500 °C. As ambient temperature increases, the running-in periods of all Ti–B–C–N coatings become shorter. Wear damage to Ti–B–C–N coatings during sliding at elevated temperature is mainly caused by adhesive wear, and adhesive-wear damage to Ti–B–C–N coatings increases as ambient temperature increases; however, higher carbon content is beneficial for decreasing the adhesive-wear damage to Ti–B–C–N coatings during sliding at elevated temperature.

In this study several Au–WO3 nanocomposite coatings were deposited by reactive magnetron co-sputtering and characterized with respect to their chemical composition, structure, microstructure and mechanical and optical properties. The nanocomposites consist of a dual phase system of Au nanoparticles dispersed homogeneously in an amorphous WO3 matrix, with compositions ranging between 0 and 11 at.% Au. To enhance the surface plasmon resonance effect in the coatings, the growth of Au nanoparticles was stimulated by applying a thermal annealing treatment at different temperatures up to 500 °C. The annealing treatments promoted the crystalization of the WO3 matrix. The hardness of the coatings remained close to 4.5 GPa, irrespectively of the Au content and annealing temperature. As a result of the microstructural changes in both the nanoparticles and matrix, surface plasmon resonance effect was successfully enhanced and different colourations were obtained in the coatings.

Composite Nb–V–Si–N films with various V contents (3.7–13.2 at.%) were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering and the effects of V content on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of Nb–V–Si–N films were investigated. The results revealed that a three-phase structure, consisting of face-centered cubic (fcc) Nb–V–Si–N, hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Nb–V–Si–N and amorphous Si 3 N 4 , co-exists in the Nb–V–Si–N films and the cubic phase is dominant. The hardness and critical load ( L c ) of Nb–V–Si–N films initially increased gradually and reached a summit, then decreased with the increasing V content in the films and the maximum values were 35 GPa and 9.8 N, respectively, at 6.4 at.% V. The combination of V into Nb–Si–N film led to the fracture toughness linearly increasing from 1.11 MPa·m 1/2 at 3.7 at.% V to 1.67 MPa·m 1/2 at 13.2 at.% V. At room temperature (RT), the average friction coefficient decreased from 0.80 at 3.7 at.% V to 0.55 at 13.2 at.% V for the Nb–V–Si–N films. The wear rate of Nb–V–Si–N films initially decreased and then increased after reaching a minimum value of about 6.35 × 10 − 7 mm 3 /N·mm at 6.4 at.% V. As the rise of testing temperature from 200 °C to 600 °C, the average friction coefficient of Nb–V–Si–N films decreased with the increase of the testing temperature regardless of V content. However, the wear rate gradually increased for all films. The average friction coefficient and wear rate at RT and elevated temperatures were mainly influenced by the vanadium oxides with weakly bonded lattice planes.

This paper reports the structural and surface features of In1−xAlxN films grown on GaAs substrates with ZnO buffer layer by using reactive magnetron co-sputtering of Al and In targets in Ar–N2 at 100 °C. The Al sputtering power was varied between 100 W and 300 W with respect to the fixed In power (50 W) to obtain different compositions of the films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed the formation of nanostructured In1−xAlxN films along (0002) and ( 10 1 ¯ 1 ) planes with composition ‘x’ ranging from 0.4 to 0.9. Intensity of the diffraction peaks and crystallite size were decreased with increase of the Al contents in the film. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) results indicated that a compact film structure changes into a relatively loose structure by increasing the Al power.

TiZrN coating was deposited on 316L stainless steel (SS) by the reactive magnetron co-sputtering technique. Cubic phase of TiZrN with uniform surface morphology was observed by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Bacterial adhesion, haemocompatibility and corrosion behaviour of TiZrN coating were examined in order to evaluate the coating’s compatibility for ideal implant. Results revealed that TiZrN coatings exhibited less bacterial attachment against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria, negligible platelets activation and superior corrosion resistance than the uncoated 316L SS.

Sc doped AlN (ScAlN) films were prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. The crystal quality, surface topography, cross-sectional view and the resistivity of ScAlN thin films grown on Si (100) substrates at various substrate temperatures from room temperature to 650°C have been investigated. Results show that the temperature has a significant effect on the properties of ScAlN thin films. According to the research, the crystal quality of ScAlN film first increases and then decreases, reaching the best crystalline state at 600°C. The best surface morphology and cross-sectional view of ScAlN thin film was obtained at 600°C. The resistivity first increased to a maximum value of 3·36 × 1012 Ω·cm and then decreased with the temperature increasing.

Two series of TiAlN and Ti3AlN films have been deposited on Si (100) substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering TiAl and Ti3Al targets in Ar/N2 mixture. The effects of incoming ions energies controlled by Vb on the microstructure, morphologies, residual stress and hardness have been explored by XRD, SEM, AFM, surface profiler and nanoindentation. The results showed that single phase cubic Ti-Al-N solid solubility formed by Al atoms replacing some Ti atoms in the cubic TiN lattice occured in both TiAlN and Ti3AlN films. As substrate bias increased, the preferred orientation firstly changed from (111) to (200), and then returned to (111) at higher substrate bias. At the same time, high substrate bias promoted the densification of films and presence of high compressive stress, which is benefit for improvement of hardness.

In this paper the influence of temperature on the 3-D surface morphology of titanium nitride (TiN) thin films synthesized by DC reactive magnetron sputtering has been analyzed. The 3-D morphology variation of TiN thin films grown on p-type Si (100) wafers was investigated at four different deposition temperatures (473 K, 573 K, 673 K, 773 K) in order to evaluate the relation among the 3-D micro-textured surfaces. The 3-D surface morphology of TiN thin films was characterized by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fractal analysis applied to the AFM data. The 3-D surface morphology revealed the fractal geometry of TiN thin films at nanometer scale. The global scale properties of 3-D surface geometry were quantitatively estimated using the fractal dimensions D, determined by the morphological envelopes method. The fractal dimension D increased with the substrate temperature variation from 2.36 (at 473 K) to 2.66 (at 673 K) and then decreased to 2.33 (at 773 K). The fractal analysis in correlation with the averaged power spectral density (surface) yielded better quantitative results of morphological changes in the TiN thin films caused by substrate temperature variations, which were more precise, detailed, coherent and reproducible. It can be inferred that fractal analysis can be easily applied for the investigation of morphology evolution of different film/substrate interface phases obtained using different thin-film technologies.

The paper reports on the effect of Cu content in the Al–Cu–N film on its antibacterial activity and mechanical properties. The Al–Cu–N films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering from composed Al/Cu targets using a dual magnetron. The antibacterial activity of Al–Cu–N films was tested on the killing of Escherichia coli bacteria. Mechanical properties of Al–Cu–N films were determined from the load vs. displacement curves measured by a Fischerscope H 100 microhardness tester. Mechanical properties were controlled by (i) the Cu content in the film and (ii) the energy Ei delivered to growing film by bombarding ions and fast neutrals. Correlations between the energy Ei, the content of Cu in the Al–Cu–N film and its mechanical and antibacterial properties were investigated in detail. It was found that (1) Al–Cu–N films with Cu content ranging from ~ 2 to ~ 12 at.% exhibit (i) high hardness H ranging from ~ 15 to ~ 23 GPa, (ii) high ratio H/E⁎ ≥ 0.1, (iii) high elastic recovery We ≥ 60%, (iv) compressive macrostress (σ

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering showed that nanoNi3C crystals, fullerene-like/onions structures as well as small curved graphenes dispersed in amorphous carbon matrix. It is believed that the migration of Ni atoms leads to the formation of the fullerene-like/onion structures as well as small curved graphenes at high pulsed bias.

Se depositaron recubrimientos de Ti-Si-N mediante DC Magnetrón Sputtering reactivo, sobre sustratos de acero inoxidable AISI 304, variando el flujo de N2, con el fin de estudiar su efecto en las propiedades estructurales, mecánicas y tribológicas. Los recubrimientos se depositaron utilizando un blanco de Ti-Si (90-10 % at.) con 99,999% de pureza. La caracterización estructural se realizó por medio de Difracción de Rayos X (XRD), con lo cual se encontraron los picos correspondientes a cristalitos de TiN. Al no encontrar evidencias de la formación de las fases Ti-Si-N, Ti-Si, Ti o Si libre, se determinó que el compuesto está formado por granos cristalinos de TiN en una matriz amorfa de SiN. Dicho resultado está apoyado en análisis realizados por FTIR y EDS. Las propiedades mecánicas fueron estudiadas por medio de nanoindentación, obteniendo valores de dureza alrededor de 23 GPa cuando se utilizan bajos flujos de N2

Transparent conductive aluminum doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al, AZO) films have been prepared on glass substrate by pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The sputtering process was accurately controlled by a closed-loop speedflo controller with a λ-sensor. Subsequently, the obtained AZO films were annealed at different temperature. The effect of annealing temperature on the optical, electrical, and structural properties was investigated. Structural, electrical and optical properties were performed by XRD, SEM, AFM, four-point probe and UV–vis–NIR spectrum measurements. Experimental results show that the electrical resistivity of AZO thin films deposited at room temperature can be as low as 5.24×10 −4 Ω cm with post-deposition annealing at 300 °C.

The photosensitive thin kesterite films of Cu1.5Zn1.15Sn0.85S4 were prepared by the reactive magnetron sputtering of composite targets followed by annealing with the formation of a kesterite phase.

In this study, we modified the surface of bioresorbable electrospun poly-( l -lactic) acid (PLLA) scaffolds by reactive magnetron sputtering of a titanium target under a nitrogen atmosphere. We examined the influence of the plasma treatment time on the structure and properties of electrospun PLLA scaffolds using SEM, XRF, FTIR, XRD, optical goniometry, and mechanical testing. It was observed that the coating formed did not change physicomechanical properties of electrospun PLLA scaffolds and simultaneously, increased their hydrophilicity. No adverse tissue reaction up to 3 months after subcutaneous implantation of the modified scaffolds was detected in in-vivo rat model. The rate of scaffold replacement by the recipient tissue in-vivo was observed to depend on the plasma treatment time.

This article reviews the present state of the art in the field of flexible antibacterial coatings which efficiently kill bacteria on their surfaces. Coatings are formed using a reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of the elemental composition and structure of the coating on its antibacterial and mechanical properties is explained. The properties of Cr–Cu–O, Al–Cu–N, and Zr–Cu–N antibacterial coatings are used as examples and described in detail. The efficiency of killing of bacteria was tested for the Escherichia coli bacterium. The principle of the formation of thick, flexible antibacterial coatings which are resistant to cracking under bending is explained. It is shown that magnetron sputtering enables production of robust, several-micrometer thick, flexible antibacterial coatings for long-term use. The antibacterial coatings produced by magnetron sputtering present huge potential for many applications.

CrSiN coatings of different silicon content were deposited on 1Cr18Ni9Ti austenitic stainless by d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering in a closed field unbalanced system. Comparative studies on microstructure and mechanical properties between CrN and CrSiN coatings with various Si contents were carried out. The structure of the CrSiN coatings was found to change from crystalline to amorphous structure as the Si contents increased. Amorphous phase of Si3N4 compound was suggested to exist in the CrSiN coatings. The crystalline grain became smaller in CrSiN coatings. With the increasing Si content, the coating deposition rate slew down, while the hardness of coatings improved obviously and the best hardness was about 4200 HV0.01 when the Si content was 1.13%.