Structure, Mechanical, and Micro-Scratch Behavior of Ta-Hf-C Solid Solution Coating Deposited by Non-Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

The TaC, HfC, and Hf-Ta-C coatings are successfully prepared by non-reactively DC magnetron sputtering. The effects of working pressure and deposition temperature on the structure and mechanical properties of Ta-Hf-C coating are analyzed. The scratch performance of the Ta-Hf-C coating deposited on 304 stainless steel and tungsten substrates are investigated. Results show the hardness and elastic modulus of Ta-Hf-C solid solution coating both increase to 37.8 ± 1.1 GPa and 435.8 ± 13.8 GPa due to the solid solution strengthening effect. Plastic deformation resistance H3/E2 of Ta-Hf-C coating can reach 0.285, which is more than twice that of binary coating. Furthermore, the scratch performance and failure mechanism show that Ta-Hf-C coating has a weaker plastic deformation resistance on soft substrate and low friction characteristic (0.01) on hard substrate, which implies that Ta-Hf-C coating is a good protective coating that can be applied to cutting tools.

XPS Investigation of the Oxidation States of the As-Deposited Ta Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering Technology

“…In recent years, tantalum-based materials have attracted considerable attention due to their high corrosion resistance [1][2][3][4][5][6], unique electrical properties [7,8], and excellent in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility [9][10][11]. These properties endow Ta-based materials with the possibility for extended applications.…”