Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.97, No.5, 1356-1358, 2014
Wide Color Variation in SiNO Thin Films Dispersed with Precipitated TiN Nano Particles
Amorphous thin films of Ti1-ySiy(N,O) with y0.38 were prepared by reactive sputter deposition in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermal annealing of the films in an ammonia flow above 800 degrees C yielded Si(N,O) amorphous thin films dispersed with precipitated TiN nanosized particles. The film color changed with Si content y and the annealing conditions, from carrot orange to cream yellow in the as-deposited films due to their oxynitride nature, and from dark green to canary yellow and from iron blue to horizon blue at respective annealing temperatures of 800 degrees C and 900 degrees C due to metallic nature of the TiN nanosized particles precipitated in the annealing.