Fracture toughness of Ti-Si-N thin films. (April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bartosik, M.; Hahn, R.; Zhang, Z.L.; Ivanov, I.; Arndt, M.; Polcik, P.; Mayrhofer, P.H.
• Is Part Of: International journal of refractory metals & hard materials. Volume 72(2018)
• Page Start: 78
• Page End: 82
• Publication Date: 2018-04
• Subjects: TiSiN -- Fracture toughness -- Micromechanical testing -- Single cantilever bending -- Damage tolerance; Heat resistant alloys -- Periodicals; Refractory materials -- Periodicals; Metallography -- Periodicals; Alliages réfractaires -- Périodiques; Matériaux réfractaires -- Périodiques; Métallographie -- Périodiques; Heat resistant alloys; Metallography; Refractory materials; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 669.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2017.12.015
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-4368

Abstract

Abstract: Ti-Si-N nanocomposite thin films usually consist of a few nm sized crystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. Here we study the influence of the Si content in Ti-Si-N films – prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering using Ti targets alloyed with intermetallic TiSi2 (to obtain Si contents of 0, 10, 15, 20, 25 at.% in the targets) – on fracture toughness ( K IC ) and hardness. Single cantilever bending experiments show that Ti-Si-N exhibits K IC values of up to 3.0 ± 0.2 MPa√m, which are significantly higher than those for TiN with 1.9 ± 0.2 MPa√m. Complementary nanoindentation experiments reveal also a higher hardness for Ti-Si-N with 34 ± 1 GPa as compared to 26 ± 1 GPa for TiN. The film structure is carefully studied by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Highlights: K IC of Ti-Si-N thin films is determined by single-cantilever bending tests. K IC and hardness depend on the Si content and the film structure. The film structure was studied by XRD, XPS, SEM, and HRTEM.