Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ti(Cr)SiC(O)N Coatings Deposited by Plasma Enhanced Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

TiSiCN, TiSiCON, TiCrSiCN, TiCrSiCON, CrSiCN and CrSiCON coatings have been deposited on WC-Co substrates and Si wafers using plasma enhanced magnetron sputtering (PEMS) technique. The microstructure, composition and mechanical properties of the non-oxygen coatings and oxygen-containing coatings were studied by XRD, SEM, EDS and load-depth-sensing indentation. The tribological behavior of the coatings against Al2O3 balls was conducted by pin-on-disc tests. The results show that TiSiCON, TiCrSiCON and CrSiCON coatings exhibit the face center cubic (fcc) TiN-type (or CrN-type) structure. The existence of oxygen will induce loose structure and more defects for TiSiCON, TiCrSiCON and CrSiCON coatings compared with TiSiCN, TiCrSiCN and CrSiCN, respectively. The addition of oxygen element would lead to the decrease of the hardness (H) and elasticity of Ti(Cr)SiCN coatings. TiCrSiCON and CrSiCON coatings with oxygen element have lower friction coefficients and wear rate compared with TiCrSiCN and CrSiCN coatings without oxygen, respectively. The TiSiCON with higher friction coefficient and wear rate shows poor abrasive wear resistance than TiSiCN.

The effect of sputtering parameters and doping on the properties of CrN‐based coatings—A critical review

“…Transition metal-based hard coatings have been studied for last 15 years by several researchers. Hard coating via PVD methods using metal nitrides like chromium nitrides, aluminum nitrides, chromiumaluminum nitrides, and titanium nitrides [19][20][21][22] have been successfully synthesized by researchers to enhance properties like hardness, corrosion resistance properties 23 and wear resistance properties even at high temperature of about $900 C. 24,25 They have been used in decorative coatings 26 and in applications where obtaining oxidation F I G U R E 1 Classification of chemical and physical vapor deposition techniques. resistance properties is the major challenge.…”

“…Despite of producing better coatings than CVD, sputtering process has certain challenges when it comes to deposit nitride coatings. The microstructure, film thickness and elemental composition plays a vital role in altering the mechanical and tribological properties of the coatings which are generally governed by substrate temperature, sputtering pressure, substrate target distance and sputtering power of individual targets during cosputtering process 21,48,54,116,117. The major problem faced during deposition of these nitrides is stabilizing the plasma which needs a good control over the gas flow during the sputtering.…”

CrN Coating on 316L Stainless Steel via Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Enhanced Magnetron Sputtering as Bipolar Plates for Proton‐Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

“…Plasma-enhanced magnetron sputtering (PEMS) technology [27][28][29] can significantly improve the properties of coatings compared with pure magnetron sputtering, such as thickness, hardness, film-substrate adhesion. [30][31][32][33] To our knowledge, there are few literatures paying attention to the research on the application of PEMS in the field of CrN-coated BPs. In this research, we deposited CrN monolayer coating on 316LSS via inductively coupled plasma (ICP)enhanced magnetron sputtering technology, and the electrochemical behavior and ICR of CrN-coated 316LSS were systematically evaluated to meet the requirements of application for PEMFCs.…”