**5. Electrical properties**

Electrical resistivity and sheet resistance measurements were obtained through the van der Pauw method for the Zr▬Si▬N deposited films, and their values were calculated and listed in **Table 5**. The results evidence that the electrical resistivity increases from 4.40 × 10<sup>−</sup><sup>4</sup> Ω cm (free Si) to 77.99 Ω cm (with 8 at.% Si) with the addition of silicon. This increase on the resistivity has been reported by other authors in different nanocomposites [54, 98]. They have found that depending on the chemical composition and electrical nature of the amorphous phase and nanocrystalline phase, the resistivity of Me▬Si▬N nanocomposite films can change. The electrical resistivity increases with increasing Si content, and the nanocomposite films have showed to have a structure of MeN nanocrystalline (conductor) surrounded of a SiNx amorphous phase (insulator). However, when the electrical resistivity behavior is independent to Si content, the resistivity is due to a direct percolation of the MeN1−x nanocrystalllines (conductors) separated by low degree of nitration of the SiNx grain boundary phase [98].

Therefore, the results obtained evidenced the formation of Zr▬Si▬N nanocomposite films with ZrN nanocrystallites embedded in the amorphous phase of SiNx, and the increase in the electrical resistivity with the Si addition is due to an increase in the thickness of SiNx layer that covers the nanocrystallites. The grain boundary scattering model is used for explaining the electrical conductivity in nanocomposite films [98].


**Table 5.** *Values of resistivity the ZrN with different Si contents.*
