Effect of the period of the substrate oscillation in the dynamic glancing angle deposition technique: A columnar periodic nanostructure formation

Nanostructured CrN thin films are obtained by combining RF physical vapor and dynamic glancing angle deposition using a computer-controlled substrate oscillatory motion. By using an appropriate frequency for substrate oscillation, it becomes feasible to tailor the physical properties of thin films deposited onto the substrate. The films are deposited by moving the substrate back and forward between specified angles with, among other parameters, a controlled time-dependent angular position phi(t) of the substrate. Thus, the direction of atoms striking the film changes in accordance to the position of the substrate. In this paper, we report the physical properties of a material for a varying frequency of substrate oscillation while maintaining the same angular phi(t) function (triangular function) in all the studied samples. By controlling the incidence angle phi(t) for precursor atoms impinging upon the substrate, one can prompt the formation of wavy-like periodic columnar nanostructures. The physical characteristics of the coating such as morphology, residual stress, nanohardness, crystallite size, composition, and texture of the columnar periodic multistructured films are all remarkably dependent on the oscillation frequency. The cited physical properties obtained by moving the substrate forward and back with an angular phi(t) triangular function and several periods of oscillation are reported and analyzed.