Multi-component (Al,Cr,Nb,Y,Zr)N thinfilms by reactive magnetron sputter deposition for increased hardness and corrosion resistance
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Thin Solid Films |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040609019307126 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2019.137685 |
| Keywords | Multi-principal element nitrideNitride coatingHigh entropy nitridePotentiodynamic polarisation curves |
| Description | Multi-component nitride thin films in the Al–Cr–Nb–Y–Zr system with non-equimolar composition have been deposited by reactive dc magnetron sputtering. The substrate temperature and substrate bias have been varied, from room temperature to 700°C and from 0 to -200 V, respectively. The relationship between these varied growth conditions on the structure, morphology, mechanical and corrosion properties of the films have been probed. All films consisted of a single solid solution with a NaCl-type structure, as shown by X-ray diffraction. However, elemental energy dispersive spectroscopy maps, obtained in the scanning transmission electron microscope, indicated that there could be partial segregation of Al, Cr and Y atoms within the grains. The microstructure of the films became denser, more fine-grained and smoother as the bias and temperature were increased. Nanoindentation showed that the hardness of the films increased with both bias and temperature, reaching a maximum of 27 GPa. The corrosion resistance of the films, studied by performing potentiodynamic polarisation curves in 1 M HCl, was also found to be improved when compared to a commercially available hyper-duplex stainless steel and a ternary reference (Nb,Zr)N thin film as well. |
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