Characterization of TiCN thin films deposited by Dc-Pulsed PACVD using methane precursor

Titanium carbonitride (TiCN) thin films were deposited on hot-work steel (DIN 1.2606) by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) and the influence of different CH4/ (CH4+N2) gas flow ratio, on the layer mechanical properties, were investigated. SEM studies indicated that the growth rate is decreased by increasing the CH4/ (CH4+N2) gas flow ratio. It was found that the Ti(C, N) layers have different stoichiometry, TiC30N70 and TiC70N30 for 0.5 and 0.66 gas flow ratio. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM...