WET OXIDATION OF TI34SI23N43

The wet oxidation of magnetron-sputtered x-ray-amorphous Ti34Si23N43 films at temperatures from 500 to 1000 °C and ambient pressure was investigated by backscattering spectrometry, x-ray diffraction analysis, and step profilometry. Up to 800 °C, the oxidation yields x-ray-amorphous oxide scales of atomic composition Ti20Si13O67. At 500 and 550 °C the oxide growth kinetics is parabolic. At 700 and 800 °C, the oxidation kinetics is well described by a logarithmic time dependence. At 1000 °C, the oxide scale has a layered structure with a crystalline TiO2 layer on top of Ti–Si–O.