Hard TiC Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

The structural and mechanical properties of TiC films grown using the Pulsed Laser Deposition technique on (100) Si substrates at 500 °C under various pressures of high purity CH4 or N2 atmosphere were investigated. Symmetrical and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements found that films were nanocrystalline, with grain size values decreasing with the increase of the gaseous atmosphere used during deposition, and exhibited micro-strain values around 1%. Simulations of the X-ray reflectivity curves showed that films had densities close to the tabulated value. The surface was covered by a ∼2 nm thick oxy-carbide contamination layer that formed when films were exposed to the ambient and very smooth, with a surface rms of around 1 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations found a low oxygen impurity level of around 5-7% once the contamination surface layer was removed by ion sputtering. Nanoindentation and scratch test investigations showed that films were hard and adherent.