Optical and mechanical properties of amorphous Mg-Si-O-N thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

TL;DR

This study investigates how the optical and mechanical properties of amorphous Mg-Si-O-N thin films vary with magnesium content, using reactive magnetron sputtering and comprehensive characterization techniques.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the relationship between Mg composition and the properties of amorphous Mg-Si-O-N films, which was not extensively studied before.

Findings

Optical properties depend on Mg content.

Mechanical hardness varies with composition.

Films exhibit uniform surface morphology.

Abstract

In this work, amorphous thin films in Mg-Si-O-N system were prepared in order to investigate the dependence of optical and mechanical properties on Mg composition. Reactive RF magnetron co-sputtering from magnesium and silicon targets were used for the deposition of Mg-Si-O-N thin films. Films were deposited on float glass, silica wafers and sapphire substrates in an Ar, N2 and O2 gas mixture. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and nanoindentation were employed to characterize the composition, surface morphology, and properties of the films.