Residual stress measurement of {112}-oriented CrN layers in CrN/Cr multilayer films

In this work, the authors propose and verify a method of measuring the residual stress of {112}-oriented chromium nitride (CrN) layers in CrN/Cr multilayer thin films. The CrN layers of a CrN/Cr multilayer film deposited on a Ti6Al4V substrate by arc ion plating form both a randomly oriented mixed crystal structure and a {112}-oriented structure. Therefore, accurate stress measurement of the CrN layers cannot be performed by applying the sin2ψ x-ray method assuming an isotropic homogeneous material. To overcome this obstacle, the proposed method to measure the residual stress uses four CrN-422 diffractions: at ψ = 0°, 33.56°, 48.19°, and 60.00°. Next, the authors vary the density of Cr droplets on the film surface to evaluate how it affects the residual stress in the CrN/Cr multilayer film. The results indicate that the Cr layer has a residual compressive stress of −350 to −530 MPa and that the two CrN layers have a very large residual compressive stress of −3.5 to −8.2 GPa. In addition, both residual compressive stresses decrease with increasing droplet density.

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B 37, 062919 (2019) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5118682.
This paper is part of the Conference Collection: 15th International Symposium on Sputtering and Plasma Processes (ISSP2019).