Effects of substrate temperature on structure, thermal stability and mechanical property of a Zr-based metallic glass thin film

• Zr–Cu–Ni–Al–Hf–Ti glassy film was prepared at various substrate temperatures.
• Modulus, hardness, density and roughness increase with substrate temperature.
• Thermal stability, toughness and anti-oxidation decrease with substrate temperature.
• The scaling of growth was revealed to be an anomalous mode.

The effect of substrate temperature on the structure and properties of magnetron sputtered Zr–Cu–Ni–Al–Hf–Ti thin films were systematically investigated. With increasing deposition temperature from 293 K to 493 K, the films remain amorphous but their thermal stability decreases. Crystallization occurs as the substrate temperature reaches 563 K. It was demonstrated that the hardness and Young's modulus of glassy films were enhanced and fracture toughness was worsen by increasing the substrate temperature, along with generating a denser structure. Through the scaling analysis, it was revealed that all glassy films grow in an anomalous mode. These metallic glass films prepared herein exhibit extremely low roughness, less than 1 nm, high thermal stability and excellent mechanical properties, which are useful properties for their potential use for MEMS and other industry applications.