Reactive sputter deposition of CoCrCuFeNi in oxygen/argon mixtures
Résumé
Thin films of (CoCrCuFeNi)Ox were deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering in a mixed O2/Ar atmosphere. Stoichiometric films with a rock-salt (B1) crystal structure and a zone T microstructure were obtained at high oxygen pressures. HR-TEM and STEM studies demonstrated a homogeneous elemental distribution, the constituting metals are in a solid solution on the cation sites. This material system shows several similarities with sputtering the same alloy in a mixed N2/Ar atmosphere: a textural change from a 100 to a 100 out-of-plane alignment occurs with the introduction of the reactive gas species and at high reactive gas flows, both systems achieve a B1 structure. The most profound difference is the higher incorporation rate of oxygen compared to nitrogen, which can be attributed to a larger electronegativity of the former element.