Strain and texture analysis of coatings using high-energy x-rays

We investigate the internal strain and crystallographic orientation (texture) in physical-vapor deposited metal nitride coatings of TiN and CrN. A high-energy diffraction technique is presented that uses synchrotron x rays and an area detector, and which allows the strain and intensity distributions of multiple crystallographic planes to be measured by a single x-ray exposure. Unique texture states and nonlinear sin(2) psi strain distributions are observed for all coatings investigated. Quantitative analysis indicates that existing micromechanical models can reasonably predict strain and corresponding stress for mixed-hkl reflections but are inadequate for fully describing measured data. Alternative mechanisms involving deposition-induced defects are proposed. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.