Structural evolution of Ti–Al–Si–N nanocomposite coatings

Ti–Si–Al–N films were prepared by rf reactive magnetron sputtering, in static and rotation modes, using a wide range of different deposition conditions, which created conditions to obtain Ti–Al–Si–N coatings with different structural arrangements. Films prepared below a critical nitrogen flow, under...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Vacuum 2009-06, Vol.83 (10), p.1206-1212
Main Authors: Carvalho, S., Rebouta, L., Ribeiro, E., Vaz, F., Tavares, C.J., Alves, E., Barradas, N.P., Riviere, J.P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Coatings
Magnetron sputtering
Nanostructure
Phases
Segregations
Solid solution hardening
Superhard nanocomposites
Titanium
Titanium nitride
Ti–Al–Si–N
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Summary:Ti–Si–Al–N films were prepared by rf reactive magnetron sputtering, in static and rotation modes, using a wide range of different deposition conditions, which created conditions to obtain Ti–Al–Si–N coatings with different structural arrangements. Films prepared below a critical nitrogen flow, under conditions out of thermodynamic equilibrium, revealed a preferential growth of an fcc (Ti,Al,Si)N x compound with a small N deficiency. With nitrogen flow above that critical value, the reduction of the lattice parameter was no longer detected. However, a thermal annealing showed that a complete thermodynamically driven segregation of the TiN and Si 3N 4 phases was not yet obtained. The segregation upon annealing induced a self-hardening and showed a multiphase system, where the crystalline TiN, (Ti,Al)N and (Ti,Al,Si)N x phases were identified by X-ray diffraction. This behavior is due to the de-mixing of the solid solution associated to a small N deficiency.
ISSN:0042-207X
1879-2715
DOI:10.1016/j.vacuum.2009.03.009