Stoichiometric Evolution of Multi-Phase Tungsten Nitrides under Variable Gas Flow and Auxiliary Plasma Assistance During Magnetron Sputtering
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26565/2312-4334-2026-3-64Keywords:
Magnetron Sputtering, Nitrides, Tungsten, XRD, Phase, Structure, Gas flowAbstract
In this work, the influence of Ar/N2 gas mixture composition and auxiliary plasma-assisted activation on the structural-phase evolution of tungsten nitride (WN) coatings deposited via planar magnetron sputtering was systematically investigated. The coatings were synthesized using a 100-mm diameter tungsten target under varying reactive gas regimes (from 50% to 10% N₂) and two electrical configurations: an additional biased anode (+200 V) and a standard grounded anode setup. X-ray diffraction coupled with qualitative and quantitative optimization proved that the coatings possess a complex heterophase structure composed of hexagonal hcp-WN and cubic fcc-W2N phases. It has been established that the persistent dominance of the hcp-WN phase with a highly stable (111) texture acts as a rigid energetically favored framework across all gas flow ratios. Decreasing the nitrogen content primarily affects the secondary, more compliant cubic phase component. At a critical nitrogen deficiency of 10%, the growth of the preferred (200) cubic planes becomes heavily suppressed, forcing the matrix towards grain refinement (nanocrystallization) and stimulating the structural integration of mixed-phase (220)fcc + (102)hcp configuration. Furthermore, shifting to the grounded anode configuration collapses the auxiliary glow discharge zone, dropping the near-substrate plasma density from 7.5 × 1010 cm−3 to 4 × 1010 cm−3. The resulting reduction in adatom surface diffusion length causes rapid thermal quenching, leading to complete texture randomization, a sharp fourfold increase in the isotropic (111)fcc + (100)hcp reflection, and the accumulation of structurally imperfect phase boundaries. The application of an auxiliary biased anode serves as an effective tool to decouple the destructive effects of high-energy ion bombardment from the beneficial structural ordering induced by high-flux, low-energy plasma activation.
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