Characterization of α-Al2O3 coatings deposited by reactive evaporation in an anodic arc under high-current ion assistance

Abstract

Abstract The article presents the results of studies of the mechanical and adhesive characteristics of α-Al2O3 coatings depositeedby reactive anodic evaporation of Al in an arc discharge at low-energy (50 eV) high-current (up to 15 mA·cm−2) ion assistance at 640°C. The coatings are characterized by a strong texture (300), which contributes to an increase in adhesive strength (the critical load at which the destruction of the coating is observed reaches 2560±29 mN). It was shown that there is an optimal discharge current (20 A), at which the best adhesion, the surface quality (Ra = 13.4 nm, Rz = 44.7 nm) and the resistance of elastic deformation of coatings (H/E = 0.08) are achieved.