Effect of substrate temperature on the adhesion properties of magnetron sputtered nano-composite Si–C–N hard thin films

The adhesion and film failure studies on nano-composite SiCN thin films on silicon, glass and steel have been carried out. It was observed that both coating as well as the substrate has an influence on the adhesion of film. The films on hard substrate Si failed adhesively whereas on softer substrate, steel, cohesive failure was observed. The measured critical load was around 18 N and 24 N for SiCN film on silicon and steel substrate respectively. A decrease in critical load and interface toughness with the increase of substrate temperature during deposition for glass and steel substrate was observed.