Effects of substrate temperature on Ti-Si-C thin film deposited by sputtering using elemental targets

Abstract

Deposition of Ti-Si-C thin films by magnetron sputtering was examined using elemental targets of titanium, silicon and carbon, in order to investigate the effects of substrate temperature on the formation of carbide compounds such as TiCx and/or Ti3SiC2, and thereby on mechanical properties and on physical properties of the thin films. It was found that Ti-Si-C thin films of both excellent electrical conductivity and high hardness could be formed by depositing at much lower temperature than the conventional depositing temperature such as 800 degree centigrade. And it was noteworthy that the Ti-Si-C film of electrical resistivity around 200μΩcm and hardness higher than 10GPa could be obtained by depositing at 500 degree centigrade.