RBS Depth Profiling Analysis of (Ti, Al)N/MoN and CrN/MoN Multilayers

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Surface Engineering
• Thin Film Technology

Background:

• Multilayered coatings offer enhanced mechanical and tribological properties.
• Titanium Aluminum Nitride (Ti, Al)N and Chromium Nitride (CrN) are established hard coating materials.
• Molybdenum Nitride (MoN) is explored for its unique properties in multilayer systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize (Ti, Al)N/MoN and CrN/MoN multilayered films.
• To investigate the influence of varying bilayer periods on film properties.
• To correlate microstructural and compositional data obtained from multiple analytical techniques.

Main Methods:

• Multi-cathodic arc ion plating for film synthesis.
• Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) for elemental composition and depth profiling.
• X-ray diffraction (XRD) for microstructure analysis.
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) for structural and thickness characterization.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of (Ti, Al)N/MoN and CrN/MoN multilayered films with controlled bilayer periods.
• RBS provided accurate elemental composition and depth profiles, consistent across various incident angles.
• XRD revealed the crystalline structure of the multilayered films.
• SEM and HR-TEM confirmed multilayer periods and film thickness, aligning with RBS data.

Conclusions:

• The combination of RBS, XRD, SEM, and HR-TEM provides a comprehensive analysis of multilayered films.
• The study demonstrates the feasibility of tailoring multilayered film properties through controlled synthesis and characterization.
• The findings contribute to the understanding of nitride-based multilayered coatings for advanced applications.