Assessment of the Nanohardness of a-SiC: H Film by Cyclic Nanoindentation

Due to very little depth of indent, the cyclic nanoindentation test is used for nondestructive testing of thin films of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-SiC: H). We prepared the films, containing various volumes of hexamethyldisiloxane (0.6 g/h and 1 g/h), onto stainless steel substrates by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition technique. In this paper, the mechanical properties, especially nanohardness, are assessed by the cyclic nanoindentation test. We found out that higher volumes of vapors of Hexamethyldisiloxane cause increases in the nanohardness and thickness of the prepared film.