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Abstract:
TiN and VN single-layers were grown on (100) and (111)MgO substrates as model systems for future studies of V diffusion and understanding the
evolution of the lubricous V2O5 phase on coating surfaces. The present study aims at elucidating the epitaxial quality and microstructure of TiN and VN
films grown by unbalanced d.c. magnetron sputtering fromTi andV targets in Ar+N2 on (100) and (111)MgO substrates.X-ray diffraction and electron
back-scatter diffraction give evidence for epitaxial growth of the films on both MgO substrate orientations. Transmission electron microscopy studies
reveal a cube-on-cube orientation for all film/substrate combinations. The higher dislocation density and larger fraction of misoriented grains for VN
films onMgOis explained by the higher growth rate and lattice mismatch compared to TiN. Nanoindentationmeasurements of the (100) oriented singlecrystal
films reveal hardness values of ∼35 GPa for TiN and ∼23 GPa for VN.