Nanostructure characterization and hardness of TiN thin films produced at different annealing temperature

TiN thin films of 87 nm thickness on stainless steel 304 (304 SS) substrates were produced using deposition of Ti on 304 SS and then annealing the samples at different temperatures (773, 923, 1073 and 1223 K) with a flow of 1.0 cm-3s-1 nitrogen. Crystallographic structure of the samples was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), while atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to obtain the surface morphology. The hardness of the samples was measured using a Vickers hardness tester. Crystallographic orientation, grains size, surface roughness and hardness of the samples as function of annealing temperature are obtained. The result showed, formation of TiN grains with fcc structure at 923 K annealing temperature. By increasing the annealing temperature the ratio of TiN/Ti increased and the fcc structure enhanced relative to bcc and hcp structures. In addition, larger grains obtained, surface roughness increased and sample surface hardness enhanced with increasing the annealing temperature.