Magnetron sputtered nc-TiN/a-SiNx nanocomposite thin films with high hardness and high toughness

This project focuses on the study of hardening and toughening mechanisms for nanocomposite thin films. The aim of this project is to study the relationship between microstructure, hardness and toughness, therefore to obtain a thin film with high hardness and at the same time high toughness. Reactive magnetron sputtering was used to prepare hard and superhard nc-TiN/a-Sinx nanocomposite thin films by co-sputtering Ti and Si3N4 targets in a gas mixture (argon and nitrogen). In order to improve the toughness of the as-prepared nanocomposite thin films, nickel was doped into the nc-TiN/a-SiNx to obtain Niiv toughened nc-TiN/a-SiNx nanocomposite thin films by co-sputtering TiNi, Ti and Si3N4 targets. Co-sputtering of multi targets allows to tailor the microstructure by adjusting the deposition parameters, such as target power density, deposition temperature, substrate bias, and gas ratio. The as-deposited Ni-toughened nc-TiN/a-SiNx nanocomposite thin films possess high hardness and high toughness.DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (MAE