Nanocharacterization of titanium nitride thin films obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering

Titanium nitride thin films are used in applications such as tribological layers for cutting tools, coating of some medical devices (scalpel blades, prosthesis, implants etc.), sensors, electrodes for bioelectronics, microelectronics, diffusion barrier, bio-microelectromechanical systems (Bio-MEMS) and so on. This work is a comparative study concerning the influence of substrate temperature on some mechanical and tribological characteristics of titanium nitride thin films. The researched thin films were obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering method. The experiments employed two kinds of substrates: a steel substrate and a silicon one. The elaboration of titanium nitride thin films was done at two temperatures. First, the obtaining was realized when the substrates were at room temperature, and second, the obtaining was realized when the substrates were previously heated at 250 °C. The elaborated samples were then investigated by atomic force microscopy in order to establish their mechanical and tribological properties. The nanohardness, roughness, friction force are some of the determined characteristics. The results marked out that the substrate which was previously heated at 250 °C led to the obtaining of more adherent titanium nitride thin films than the substrate used at room temperature.