Mechanical behavior related to various bonding states in amorphous Si–C–N hard films

A series of amorphous Si–C–N hard films were prepared by an electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition method. Microstructure characterization revealed that amorphous Si–C–N hard films contained various bonding states. Among them, Sisingle bondN and Sisingle bondC bonds played a leading role in determining the microstructure of amorphous Si–C–N hard films. Mechanical measurements showed that the hardness of these films varied between 17 GPa and 28 GPa as a function of the tetramethylsilane flow rate. A close relation between various bonding states and hardness was found. The variation of hardness was dominated by the bond fraction that corresponded to various bonding states. Macroscopic mechanical properties of a material were illustrated from the perspective of microscopic structural characterization