Influence of the Elemental Composition on the Electrical Resistivity of Ti–B–C Coatings Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering

Ti–B–C coatings of various compositions were obtained by magnetron sputtering using a TiB2–TiC heterophase target and were deposited on a Si(111) substrate. The studies were carried out using glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The electrical resistivity was measured using the four-probe method. The coatings had a dense, low-defect structure based on the hexagonal TiB2 phase and were characterized by a uniform distribution of elements throughout the thickness. It has been established that the electrical resistivity decreases from 314 to 249 µΩ cm with an increase in the titanium content in coatings from 27 to 42 at %.