Investigation of NbN and Nb–Si–N Coatings Deposited by

NbN and Nb–Si–N films were deposited by magnetron sputtering the Nb and Si targets on silicon wafers at various bias voltages, Us. The deposited films were annealed to establish their thermal stability. The films were investigated by atomic force microscope, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nanoindentation. The NbN films were nanostructured, and the Nb–Si–N films had a nanocomposite structure, and represented an aggregation of δ-NbNx nanocrystallites embedded into the amorphous Si3N4 tissue (nc-δ-NbNx/a-Si3N4). DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.128.949 PACS: 61.05.C–, 61.05.cp, 68.37.Ps, 61.05.j