Tantalum oxynitride thin films: Mechanical properties and wear behavior dependence on growth conditions

The substrate bias does not influence the adhesion of the films to the high speed steel substrate, but influences the mechanical properties, particularly the hardness, at low P(N2 + O2) regime. Films with higher crystallinity exhibit higher hardness, but in the low P(N2 + O2) regime, those who were produced with polarization are harder. Although some dependence may be established for set B films, the hardness is not as influent on the wear resistance of the TaNxOy films as the friction coefficient.