Characteristics of TiVCrAlZr multi-element nitride films prepared by reactive sputtering

Nitride films of multi-element TiVCrAlZr alloy were prepared on silicon substrates by reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering under different nitrogen/argon flow ratios ranging from 0% to 66.7%. The alloy film deposited in pure argon exhibited an amorphous structure and a very smooth surface, while a face-center-cubic solid-solution structure with strong (2 2 0), (1 1 1) to (2 0 0) orientation and different fracture feature and surface morphologies was observed in those films which were prepared under various nitrogen flow ratios. With increasing nitrogen flow ratio, the hardness and elastic modulus of the films increased and reached maximum values of 11 and 151 GPa at 50%.