Study of chromium and chromium nitride coatings deposited by inductively coupled plasma-assisted evaporation

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-assisted reactive evaporation was successfully applied to deposit Cr and CrNx coatings (>4000 HK0.01) at a high deposition rate of 1000 إ/min without intentional substrate heating. High plasma density and adequate substrate bias were essential for achieving a stoichiometric and dense microstructure. Films deposited at high ICP power exhibited bulk CrN crystalline properties, and this is thought to result from the extremely enhanced surface processes, even on unheated substrates.