Coating films of titanium nitride prepared by ion and vapor deposition method

Titanium nitride coating films were prepared on polished stainess steel and graphite plates by vacuum evaporation of titanium with simultaneous bombardment by nitrogen ions with an energy of 10 to 30 keV (IVD method). The compositional variations of each element with depth and the crystal structure were analysed by means of XPS, RBS and X-ray diffraction. It was confirmed that a significant intermixed layer exists at the interface. The thickness of this layer was about 440 A for a film prepared on a stainless-steel plate at about 300 0C by a 30 keV nitrogen ion beam, and decreased with decrease of the ion energy. Films were mainly composed of TiN crystallites with [100] axes preferentially oriented normal to the film surfaces. Some titanium was bound to oxygen and carbon atoms, but there were no metallic-state titanium atoms. (author)