Oxidation behavior of TiN/ZrN multilayers annealed in air

Using reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering, TiN/ZrN multilayers were deposited on Si (111) substrates at 550 °C. The multilayers were annealed at different temperatures ranging from 500 to 1100 °C in air. The variation of the annealed multilayers has been investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. A layer-by-layer oxidation behavior is found in the multilayers annealed at temperatures below 900 °C. The oxidation mechanism of multilayers is discussed in the paper.