The Effects of N₂ Flow Rates on the Properties of Ti-Al-Si-N Films Deposited by Arc Ion Plating

Abstract

Ti-Al-Si-N films were deposited on 1Cr11Ni2W2MoV steel at different N2 flow rates from 0 to 600 sccm by AIP using a Ti60Al30Si10 target. The effects of the N2 flow rates on the deposition rate, composition, microstructure, microhardness and adhesion property of the films were investigated by SEM/EDS, XRD, microhardness and scratch tests, respectively. The results show that the deposition rate of the films decreased initially and then began to increase at N2 flow rate higher than 300 sccm. The microhardness of the films increased with the N2 flow rate except a slight drop at 450sccm. The evolution of adhesion property of the films was very similar to that of microhardness. All the Ti-Al-Si-N films had B1 NaCl structure with (220) preferred orientation except that at 600 sccm. The effects of the N2 flow rate on the properties of the Ti-Al-Si-N films were discussed.