Effect of deposition condition on residual stress of iron nitride thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering and ion implantation

The surface roughness and residual stress development in Fe–N thin films prepared by compound technology—combining magnetron sputtering with plasma based ion implantation were investigated by means of atomic force microscope and synchrotron radiation. The results indicate that the grain size of the thin film increases with the increasing of nitrogen ion implantation time, and the state of residual stress is related closely to the formation mechanism of thin films. With the nitrogen ion implantation time increasing, the residual stress of the thin film changes into tensile stress from initial compressive stress, and the tensile stress decreases with the further increasing of ion implantation time