The new cubic iron-nitride phase FeN prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering

Films of the recently discovered cubic FeN phase have been produced via RF magnetron sputtering. Their properties have been investigated as a function of the deposition parameters (substrate temperature, N-2 and Ar flows, bias voltage and RF power) in order to optimize their purity and structure. The analyses of the typically 200 nm thick films have been carried out using ion-beam analysis (Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy, Nuclear Reaction Analysis, and Time-Of-Flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis) as well as phase analysis (via X-Ray Diffraction, Conversion Electron Mossbauer Spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy). We achieved samples with about 90% single-phase cubic FeN. The stability of the films when heated in vacuum, H-2 and ammonia up to 723 K, has also been investigated. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.