Correlation between plasma conditions and properties of (Ti,Al)N coatings deposited by PECVD

Novel aluminum-rich Ti1−xAlxN coatings by LPCVD

“…Table 2 shows that both, the hardness and the Young's modulus increase continuously with the aluminum content. This is in accordance with data of PECVD layers [5] where the microhardness increases with x up to 5000 HV. A comparison of the Young's modulus data in Table 2 shows that the LPCVD coatings with x ≥ 0.85 possess a considerably higher value than common PVD layers.…”

“…Ti 1 − x Al x N with the NaCl structure is a metastable material. It was prepared by low temperature methods as reactive PVD [1,2], PECVD [3][4][5] or MOCVD [6]. Conventional thermal CVD does not allow the synthesis of fcc-Ti 1 − x Al x N because a reaction temperature higher than 1100 K is necessary [7].…”

“…For higher xvalues the co-deposition of the softer hexagonal wurtzite phase occurs. Only by PECVD techniques and a new CVD process the deposition of fcc-Ti 1 − x Al x N with a higher x-value of up to 0.9 has been achieved [5,8]. But in the case of PECVD, problems exist with regard to the composition homogeneity.…”

“…But in the case of PECVD, problems exist with regard to the composition homogeneity. The composition varies in dependence on plasma density and distance of gas inlet [5]. In this work, we report on structure, composition, properties and wear behavior of novel aluminum-rich Ti 1 − x Al x N coatings prepared by the new thermal CVD process.…”

Deposition and characterization of (Ti, Al)N coatings deposited by thermal LPCVD in an industrial reactor

“…It was then demonstrated that the growth of metastable fcc-Ti1−xAlxN coatings with various Al contents mainly results from kinetic factors [4,5]. These coatings show particular spinodal decomposition, leading to the formation of fcc-TiN and fcc-AlN domains during annealing and then to a hardness enhancement due to the lattice parameter mismatch between these two phases [6][7][8]. Aluminum addition also allows an increase of the oxidation onset temperature of about 300 °C; from ≈500 °C for TiN coatings to ≈800 °C for Ti1−xAlxN coatings [9].…”