Synthesis and characterization of zirconium nitride coatings by cathodic arc sputtering technique

Polycrystalline zirconium nitride films (560 nm) were deposited on stainless steel (SS-316) substrates using the multi-target cathodic arc sputtering technique. Deposition was carried out under N2 reactive atmosphere (4 x 10-3 mbar) at two different temperatures, 150 and 200 C. X-ray diffraction studies show that reflections from planes changed from (111) to (200) for deposition temperatures of 150 C and 200 C, respectively. Films deposited at 150 C and 200 C bear a critical load of 6.4 N and 6.8 N respectively, showing better adherence at higher temperature. This may be the result of film-substrate diffusion at the interface.