JPS58167409A - Formation method of zirconium nitride film having golden color - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form a golden ZrN film of high hardness on a substrate, by evaporating Zr on an atmosphere of nitrogen kept at a specific pressure. CONSTITUTION:A substrate material and metallic zirconium are introduced into a vapor deposition apparatus with electron beams, and the interior of a vacuum tank is then evacuated to 5X10<-5> Torr or below, and N2 gas, NH3 gas or a mixed gas thereof is then introduced thereinto to keep the pressure at 1X10<-4>- 5X10<-2> Torr pressure and evaporate the Zr or the N2 gas, NH3, gas or a mixed gas thereof is introduced into the vacuum tank to keep the interior thereof at 8X10<-5>-5X10<-2> Torr pressure. A negative voltage is then applied to the interior of the vacuum tank to ionize the gas partially and evaporate the Zr. Thus, a golden ZrN film is formed on the substrate material.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for forming a gold-colored zirconium nitride film by evaporating zirconium in a low-pressure nitrogen gas, low-pressure ammonia gas, or mixed gas atmosphere.

As is well known, gold plating is used for decorative items such as tie bins and hour hand cases, but gold is expensive and has the disadvantage of being soft and easily scratched.

Recently, gold-colored, high-hardness substances that can replace gold have attracted attention, and one of them is zirconium nitride (ZrN). When ZrN is used in such applications, it is used as a thin coating on a base material. However, the color of the ZrN film can be silver, gold, or black depending on various conditions, and a method for making the film gold has not been established.

The present inventors focused on a method for forming a ZrN film using vacuum technology, conducted studies on the method, and established a method for forming a golden ZrN film.

The first method is I X 10-" ~ 5 X 10'
Formation of a zirconium nitride film characterized by forming a gold-colored ZrN film on a substrate by evaporating zirconium in a nitrogen atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, ammonia gas, or a mixture thereof held at a pressure of Torr. The second method is to ionize some of these gases in a nitrogen atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, ammonia gas, or a mixture thereof held at a pressure of 8 x 10 to 5 x 10-''. This method of forming zirconium nitride is characterized by forming a gold-colored ZrN film on a substrate by evaporating zirconium.

Examples of the present invention will be described below.

Example 1 A stainless steel plate was placed as a base material and metal zirconium was placed as an evaporation material in an electron beam evaporation apparatus, and the inside of the vacuum chamber was evacuated to 5×10 T, □ or less.

Next, nitrogen gas, ammonia gas, and a mixed gas thereof were introduced into this vacuum chamber, and zirconium was evaporated under various partial pressures. After the film was formed, the color of the film was observed. The results are shown in the table. The substrate temperature was 20 to 70°C, the deposition rate was 100 A/min to 2 μm/min, and a golden ZrN film was formed in the pressure range of 1 x 10' to 5 x 10 T, □ regardless of the gas type. It was done. The Vickers hardness of this golden film was 1000 or more.

Example 2 A stainless steel plate was placed as a base material and metal zirconium was placed as an evaporation material in an electron beam evaporation apparatus, and the inside of the vacuum chamber was evacuated to 5 x 10' Torr or less. Next, nitrogen gas, ammonia gas, and a mixed gas thereof are introduced into this vacuum chamber, and when a negative voltage is applied to the substrate under various partial pressures, the inside of the chamber becomes a plasma state. Zirconium was evaporated in this state.

The formation conditions and film color are shown in the table, and the substrate temperature is between 700 and 700℃.
℃, the deposition rate was 100 A,/min to 2, um/min, the substrate voltage was in the range of IOV to 5 KV, and the gas S*
A golden ZrN film was formed in the pressure range of 8 x 10' to 5 x 10''2T (11) regardless of the pressure.

As described above, according to the present invention, ZrN under the above conditions
By forming a film, Zr has a golden color and high hardness.
This method has the advantage of being able to provide a N coating, and furthermore, by collecting the formed coating and crushing it into particles, a large amount of golden particles can be obtained.

Patent applicant Yaskawa Electric Co., Ltd. Agent Moritada Ito (and 2 others)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. T of lXl0-4 to 5xto-2. Formation of a zirconium nitride film characterized by forming a gold-colored zirconium nitride film on a substrate by evaporating zirconium in a nitrogen atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, ammonia gas, or a mixture thereof held at a pressure of rr. Method. 2. Evaporating zirconium in a nitrogen atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, ammonia gas, or a mixture thereof held at a pressure of 2.8X]O"5 to 5X10' Torr, with some of these gases ionized. A method for forming zirconium nitride, comprising forming a gold-colored zirconium nitride film on a substrate.