アークイオンプレーティング法により作製した窒化ケイ素薄膜の押込み硬さ

抄録

After the possibility of penetration hardness measurements by using a nanoindenter was examined, the penetration hardness of silicon nitride thin films produced under various depositing conditions was measured. Adhesion of thin silicon nitride to a stainless steel of SUS310 substrate was done through use of an arc ion plating process. For this process, the voltage of the substrate bias was changed ranging from -200V to -600V, the gas pressure in the plating chamber was 1.3×10^-2∼6.7×10^-2Pa, and gas formation was examined comparatively for 100% N₂ and mixed gas of 50% N₂/50% He. The substrate temperature remained constant at 580°C and electrode voltage was 50V.
The following conclusions were obtained. 1) A high pressure and a mixture of N₂ and He in the chamber resulted in superior hardness for the deposited films. 2) The maximum penetration hardness of the silicon nitride films was 45.0GPa. When converted into microvickers hardness, the maximum value became 2410.