Silicon Carbon Nitride Thin Films Produced by Magnetron Reactive Sputtering Physical Vapour Deposition: Structural, Chemical and Mechanical Characterisation

Amorphous silicon carbon nitride films were deposited on silicon and WC-Co substrates by magnetron reactive sputtering in Ar/N2 gas mixture with carbon and silicon targets. The influence of experimental parameters on the films morphological, structural and mechanical properties was studied. The general morphology of the film is observed by SEM and TEM. EDXS and FTIR were used to determine the film chemical composition and the nature of chemical bonding. It was observed that C≡N bonds and nitrogen percentage in the film are promoted when the substrate is biased. The role of an underlayer and the influence of its nature on the film adhesion on WC/Co substrates were also studied. In this case, nanoscratch tests showed that a SiNx thin film could be an appropriate underlayer.