Investigation of nanocrystal-(Ti,Al)Nx/amorphous-SiNy composite films by co-deposition process

Nanocrystal-(Ti,Al)Nx/amorphous-SiNy composite films were prepared by the co-deposition process. The effects of deposition parameters on the composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of nanocomposite films were investigated. Results indicated that the composition of composite films could be possibly controlled through the co-deposition process. Nanocrystal-(Ti,Al)Nx embedded in amorphous-SiNy matrix with (2 0 0) preferred orientation was observed. The content of amorphous-SiNy has substantial influence on the residual stress, columnar structure, nanocrystallite size and hardness.