Deposition of TiONC Coatings by Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation and Deposition

Abstract

According to its high temperature stability, low friction coefficient, and relatively high hardness, titanium oxynitride is a good candidate for wear protection.1 However, titanium oxynitride is brittle which limits its application as a protective coating on metallic substrates for special applications. In this work, TiONC films were deposited by magnetron sputtering of Ti target and simultaneous implantation of N, O, and Ar. The samples are immersed in an Ar + N2 plasma in an atmosphere containing C and O during simultaneous deposition and implantation. The effects of implantation energy, ion on atom ratio, and gas mixture on microstructure, chemical composition, and mechanical properties of TiONC coatings were studied.