Nano Indentation Inspection of the Mechanical Properties of Gold Nitride Thin Films

Abstract

The morphology and the local mechanical properties of gold nitride thin films were studied by atomic force microscope (AFM). Gold nitride films were deposited for the first time on silicon substrate without any buffer layer at room temperature by reactive pulsed laser ablation deposition (RPLD). The films were fabricated on (100) Si wafers by RPLD technique in which KrF excimer laser was used to ablate a gold target in N2 atmosphere (0.1 GPa-100 Pa) and ambient temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy inspections showed that the films were flat plane with rms roughness in the range of 35.1 nm-3.6 nm, depending on the deposition pressure. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) used to detect the nitrogen concentration in the films, have revealed a composition close to Au3N. The film

Keywords

• Nanoscratching
• Thin film
• Atom Force Microscopy
• Nanoindentation