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Indexed by:期刊论文

Date of Publication:2009-04-01

Journal:CHINESE PHYSICS B

Included Journals:SCIE、EI、ISTIC、CSCD、Scopus

Volume:18

Issue:4

Page Number:1570-1573

ISSN No.:1674-1056

Key Words:hard disk overcoat; ultra-thin; a-SiNx; plasma enhanced magnetron sputtering

Abstract:This paper reports that amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiNx) overcoats were deposited at room temperature by microwave ECR plasma enhanced unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The 2 nm a-SiNx overcoat has better anti-corrosion properties than that of reference a-CNx overcoats (2 4.5nm). The superior anti-corrosion performance is attributed to its stoichiometric bond structure, where 94.8% Si atoms form Si-N asymmetric stretching vibration bonds. The N/Si ratio is 1.33 as in the stoichiometry of Si3N4 and corresponds to the highest hardness of 25.0 GPa. The surface is atomically smooth with RMS < 0.2 nm. The ultra-thin a-SiNx overcoats are promising for hard disks and read/write heads protective coatings.