Bias voltage influence on the mechanical and tribological properties of titaniumaluminum nitride coatings produced by triode magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Ti x Al 1-x N coatings were grown using the triode magnetron sputtering technique with various bias voltages between -40 V and -150 V. As the bias voltage increased, an increase in the Al atomic percentage was observed, presenting a competition with Ti and producing structural changes. Moreover, the grain size and roughness were also strongly influenced by the bias voltage. It was observed that coatings with concentrations of approximately 25% Al and 75% Ti exhibited an optimum mixture of mechanical and tribological properties. The average coefficient of friction was low for the TiAlN coating that was grown at -40 V. Additionally, the critical load was obtained by measuring the adhesion using the scratch test.

Influence of zirconium addition on microstructure, hardness and oxidation resistance of tantalum nitride thin films

“…In this sense, a well-studied approach to enhance MeN properties is the production of ternary systems by the incorporation of a third chemical element to the binary nitride [14,15]. For instance, TiZrN, TiNbN and TiTaN are a few examples of ternary nitrides with superior hardness, wear rates and corrosion resistance when compared to their correspondent binary nitrides [16].…”