Chemical bonding and electronic structure in binary VNy and ternary T1−xVxNy nitrides

作者：Rosendo Sanjinés, Claudia Wiemer, P. Hones, Francis Lévy · 发表于：Journal of Applied Physics · 年份：1998 · DOI：10.1063/1.366843 · 被引用次数：54 · 研究领域：Metal and Thin Film Mechanics、GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials、Semiconductor materials and devices

Core-level binding energies (BEs) and valence-band structures of VNy and Ti1−xVxNy films (0⩽x⩽1, 0.4⩽y⩽1.1), deposited by rf magnetron sputtering, have been investigated by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The core level BEs and valence-band spectra are discussed in relation to the microhardness (Knoop microindentation). The binding energy values and the shape of the core level peaks are representative of the chemical bonding between the elements, and are thus related to the microhardness. Comparison of the experimental spectra with various theoretical density of states calculations as a function of x and y shows evidence of the influence of nitrogen vacancies and of the vanadium content on the mechanical properties.