Microstructure and mechanical properties of : V0.5Mo0.5Nx(111)/Al2O3(0001) thin films

• We report results of growth, microstructure, and mechanical properties of V0.5Mo0.5Nx thin films deposited on Al2O3(0001) substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering. Sputtering is carried out in 5 mTorr Ar/N2 atmospheres and the growth temperatures Ts are varied between 100 and 900 °C. We find that the V0.5Mo0.5Nx/Al2O3(0001) alloy films are 111-oriented NaCl-structure. In-plane and out-of plane lattice parameters are found to decrease with increasing Ts and indicate that all alloy films are strained. V0.5Mo0.5Nx hardnesses and reduced elastic moduli increase with increasing Ts, and vary between 15-23 GPa, and 220-318 GPa, respectively. The wear resistance of the alloy films is also found to increase with increasing Ts. In addition, scanning electron micrographs of indents performed on V0.5Mo0.5Nx films show material pile-up around the indent edges and no evidence of crack arising from nanoindentation experiments. Coefficients of friction acquired at normal forces of 1000 μN are found to be of the order of 0.09.

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