Characterization of CrN-Based Hard Coating Materials with Addition of GaN

抄録

Cr_1−xGa_xN thin films with various GaN concentrations were prepared on Si(100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition in order to clarify the effects of the GaN content on the material characteristics. The compositions of these films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, while crystal structures were elucidated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, and hardness values were measured by nanoindentation. Analyses determined that x was in the range of 0 to 0.51 and, at x ≤ 0.31, a single B1-(Cr,Ga)N phase was present. In those films for which x ≥ 0.38, a secondary phase based on B4-GaN also appeared. The hardness increased with increases in x up to 0.31 as the thin films maintained a single B1-(Cr,Ga)N phase, and a maximum hardness of 29.4 GPa was obtained at x = 0.31.