The effect of 800 keV Ar ion irradiation on the microstructure and composition of ZrN films grown by pulsed laser deposition technique was investigated. Grazing incidence and symmetrical X-ray diffraction showed films were nanostructured, with grain size around 13 nm and (111) textured. X-ray reflectivity investigations showed a 0.7% decrease of films density after irradiation with a fluence of 1 × 1014 cm−2 and no further decreased for a fluence of 1 × 1015 cm−2. An increase of the lattice parameter and a decrease of grain size after irradiation with a fluence of 1 × 1014 cm−2 was observed and almost no change after irradiation with a fluence of 1 × 1015 cm–2. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations did not detect changes in the composition of films after irradiation. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirmed that the films were nanocrystalline, compact, with columnar crystallites without pores or voids. After irradiation, the microstructure was not affected and no other phases appeared.
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