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We use in-situ heated nanoindentation to investigate the high-temperature nanomechanical properties of epitaxial and textured ZrB2 films deposited by magnetron sputtering. Epitaxial films deposited on 4H-SiC(0001) show a hardness decrease from 47 GPa at room temperature to 33 GPa at 600 °C, while the reduced elastic modulus does not change significantly. High resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) with selected area electron diffraction of the indented area in a 0001-textured film reveals a retained continuous ZrB2 film and no sign of crystalline phase transformation, despite massive deformation of the Si substrate. HRTEM analysis supports the high elastic recovery of 96% in the films. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2010-3921]

Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) exhibits high hardness and high melting point, which is beneficial for applications in for e.g. metal cutting. However, there is limited data on the mechanical properties of ZrB2 films and no data on epitaxial films. In this study, ZrB2(0001) thin films, with thicknesses up to 1.2 μm, have been deposited on Al2O3(0001) substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering from a compound target. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy show that the films grow epitaxially with two domain types exhibiting different in-plane epitaxial relationships to the substrate. The out-of-plane epitaxial relationship was determined to ZrB2(0001)|Al2O3(0001) and the in-plane relationships of the two domains to ZrB2[10 0]‖Al2O3[10 0] and ZrB2[11 0]‖Al2O3[10 0]. Mechanical properties of the films, evaluated by nanoindentation, showed that all films exhibit hardness values above 45 GPa, a reduced Young's modulus in the range 350–400 GPa, and a high elastic recovery of 70% at an applied load of 9000 μN. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2010-3921]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) thin films have been deposited on 4H-SiC(0001) substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering from a compound target. The effect of deposition temperature (500-900 degrees C) and sputtering power (100-400 W) on the composition and structure of the films have been investigated. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction reveal that high sputtering power values and high deposition temperatures are favorable to enhance the crystalline order of the epitaxial 0001 oriented films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the composition of the films is near-stoichiometric for all deposition temperatures and for high sputtering power values of 300 W and 400 W, whereas under-stoichiometric films arc obtained when applying 100 W or 200 W. Decreasing the deposition temperature, or in particular the sputtering power, result in higher C and O impurity levels. The resistivity of the films was evaluated by four-point-probe measurements and found to scale with the amount of O impurities in the films. The lowest resistivity value obtained is 130 mu Omega cm, which makes the ZrB2 films interesting as an electrical contact material. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [621 2010-3921]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant) [SFO-Mat-LiU 2009-00971]; VINN Excellence Center Functional Nanoscale Materials (FunMat) [2005-02666]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation [2011.0143]

The authors investigate sputtering of a Ti3SiC2 compound target at temperatures ranging from RT (no applied external heating) to 970 °C as well as the influence of the sputtering power at 850 °C for the deposition of Ti3SiC2 films on Al2O3(0001) substrates. Elemental composition obtained from time-of-flight energy elastic recoil detection analysis shows an excess of carbon in all films, which is explained by differences in the angular distribution between C, Si, and Ti, where C scatters the least during sputtering. The oxygen content is 2.6 at. % in the film deposited at RT and decreases with increasing deposition temperature, showing that higher temperatures favor high purity films. Chemical bonding analysis by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows C–Ti and Si–C bonding in the Ti3SiC2 films and Si–Si bonding in the Ti3SiC2 compound target. X-ray diffraction reveals that the phases Ti3SiC2, Ti4SiC3, and Ti7Si2C5 can be deposited from a Ti3SiC2 compound target at substrate temperatures above 850 °C and with the growth of TiC and the Nowotny phase Ti5Si3Cx at lower temperatures. High-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy shows epitaxial growth of Ti3SiC2, Ti4SiC3, and Ti7Si2C5 on TiC at 970 °C. Four-point probe resistivity measurements give values in the range ∼120 to ∼450 μΩ cm and with the lowest values obtained for films containing Ti3SiC2, Ti4SiC3, and Ti7Si2C5. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; Swedish Energy Research [43606-1]; Carl Tryggers Foundation [CTS16:303, CTS14:310, CTS 17:166]; Knut

We demonstrate the versatility of magnetron sputter epitaxy by achieving high-quality GaN nanorods on different substrate/template combinations, specifically Si, SiC, TiN/Si, ZrB2/Si, ZrB2/SiC, Mo, and Ti. Growth temperature was optimized on Si, TiN/Si, and ZrB2/Si, resulting in increased nanorod aspect ratio with temperature. All nanorods exhibit high purity and quality, proved by the strong bandedge emission recorded with cathodoluminescence spectroscopy at room temperature as well as transmission electron microscopy. These substrates/templates are affordable compared to many conventional substrates, and the direct deposition onto them eliminates cumbersome post-processing steps in device fabrication. Thus, magnetron sputter epitaxy offers an attractive alternative for simple and affordable fabrication in optoelectronic device technology. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Research Council (VR) [621-2012-4420, 621-2013-5360, 2016-04412]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) under the VINNMER international qualification program; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) through the Resea