Evolution of the microstructure of sputter deposited TaAlON thin films with increasing oxygen partial pressure

Recently, quaternary oxynitrides of transition metals and aluminum have attracted increasing interest due to their tunable properties. Within the present work, a series of TaAl(O)N films was sputter deposited using constant nitrogen and varying oxygen partial pressures. The films were grown from single element Ta and Al targets. The deposition parameters were adjusted to obtain a Ta/Al atomic ratio of ~50/50 for the oxygen-free film and were...