Combined filtered cathodic arc etching pretreatment magnetronsputter deposition of highly adherent crn films

Journal Article · Sat Dec 09 04:00:00 EST 2006 · Journal ov Vacuum Science and Technology A

OSTI ID:908500

Ehiasarian, A P; Anders, A; Petrov, I

CrN films were prepared on steel substrates by a hybridmethod utilizing filtered cathodic arc for Cr ion pretreatment andmagnetron sputtering for coating deposition. During pretreatment thesubstrates were biased to -1200 V and exposed to filtered chromiumplasma. The substrate-coating interface formed during the pretreatmentcontained a Cr-enriched modified layer with composition that was stronglyinfluenced by the temperature of the substrate as observed by scanningtransmission electron microscopy--energy dispersive spectroscopy. Themodified layer had a nanocrystalline morphology and thickness of 15 nm.The path of formation of the layer is linked to the combined action ofimplantation, diffusion, and resputtering. The resulting adhesion of 3 mum thick CrN films was very high with scratch test critical load values of83 N. The morphology of the films was smooth without large scale defectsand the microstructure was columnar. The coatings behaved well in drysliding tests with very low wear coefficients of 2.3 x 10-16 m3 N-1m-1,whichcan be linked to the high adhesion and defect-free microstructure.The smooth coatings also had a high resistance to corrosion asdemonstrated by potentiodynamic tests with particularly high pittingpotentials of +800 mV.

• Research Organization: COLLABORATION - Sheffield Hallam University,Sheffield, England
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 908500
• Report Number(s): LBNL--62746
• Journal Information: Journal ov Vacuum Science and Technology A, Journal Name: Journal ov Vacuum Science and Technology A Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 25
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
filtered cathodic arc
chromium nitride
magnetron sputterdeposition