Effects of Magnetron Sputtering Process on Quality of FeCrCoNiMn Oxide Films

The work aims to explore the effects of oxygen concentration, substrate temperature and sputtering power on the film components, film-substrate adhesion and hardness of high-entropy alloy oxides, find out the influence trend of a certain process parameter change on the performance, and summarize the influencing factors and rules. In this experiment, the (FeCrCoNiMn)Ox films under different process parameters were prepared on the Si(100) matrix by RF magnetron sputtering, and the phase structure, composition, film-substrate adhesion, hardness and elastic modulus of the films were analyzed with X-ray diffractometer (XRD), energy spectrometer (EDS), scratch meter and nanoindenterometer. The results showed that the film had an FCC structure and did not form a metal-oxide mixture. The grain size and crystallinity of the films decreased with the increase of oxygen concentration; The increase of substrate temperature led to the increase of grain size and the thickening of films. With the increase of oxygen concentration, the oxygen atoms in the film were close to saturation, and the oxygen content in the films increased rapidly when the oxygen concentration was 0%-10%; When it exceeded 10%, the rising trend of oxygen element in the film slowed down. The film composition was the closest to the equiatomic ratio when the sputtering power was 150 W, and the mixing entropy was the highest. The substrate temperature had little effect on the film composition and mixing entropy. As oxygen concentration increased, the film-substrate adhesion, hardness, and elastic modulus increased and then decreased, from 4.85 N, 6.06 GPa, and 137.8 GPa at 0 percent to 6.56 N, 14.51 GPa, and 189.4 GPa at 5 percent, and then it dropped to 3.75 N, 7.52 GPa, and 144.9 GPa at 20 percent. The film-substrate adhesion, hardness and elastic modulus increased with the increase of the substrate temperature, from 3.6 N, 12.58 GPa and 164.2 GPa to 5.05 N, 14.51 GPa, and 189.4 GPa, respectively. With the increase of sputtering power, the film-substrate adhesion increased from 5.05 N to 8.25 N, and the hardness and elastic modulus increased from 9.5 GPa and 170.3 GPa to 14.51 GPa and 189.4 GPa respectively and then decreased to 11.38 GPa and 172.6 GPa, respectively. Compared with ordinary FeCrCoNiMn alloy films, the introduction of oxygen atoms makes (FeCrCoNiMn) Ox films have greater mixed entropy, which enhances its solution strengthening effect; but when the oxygen concentration is too high, the oxygen atoms in the film are saturated, and the quality of the film decreases. Therefore, it is very important to select the correct process parameters for the quality of the film. The oxygen concentration and sputtering power have a great influence on the composition of the film, but the substrate temperature has no significant effect on the composition. The mechanical properties of the films can be effectively improved by properly increasing the oxygen concentration and sputtering power. When the substrate temperature is 350 ℃, the film-substrate adhesion and hardness are the highest. The performance is best when the oxygen concentration is 5%. © 2023, Chongqing Wujiu Periodicals Press. All rights reserved.