Effects of Si content on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of cosputtered (TiZrHfTaSi)Nx films

Abstract

This study investigates the influences of Si content on the characteristics of (TiZrHfTaSi)Nx films fabricated through reactive magnetron cosputtering. The results indicate that a Si content of 8.4 at.% refines the grain size, ascribing to the columnar structure formation, enhancing the film's hardness and elastic modulus to 30.9 and 293 GPa, respectively, but revealing insufficient wear resistance and moderate corrosion resistance. Incorporating the Si content to 18.4 at.% resulted in enhanced wear and corrosion resistances, but the deterioration of mechanical properties was also observed due to the increased amount of an amorphous SiNx phase. A combination of high mechanical properties and corrosion resistance was obtained for the (TiZrHfTaSi)Nx film with an appropriate Si content of 11.7 at.% in this investigation.