Peculiarities of structure state and mechanical characteristics in ion-plasma condensates of quasibinary system borides W2B5-TiB2

Abstract

In order to create high-durable, wear-resistant materials for a wide range of functional applications, comparative investigations of the structure and mechanical characteristics of ion-plasma Ti-W-B nano-crystalline condensates were carried out. The range of condensation rates 0.11?0.25nm/s was found to be critical for the coatings obtained from the target with 80 vol% W2B5-20 vol% TiB2. Below this, a phase with a cubic lattice (W,Ti)B0.7?1.2(O,N,C)0.3?0.2 formed, while over this range, a solid solution (W,Ti)B2 with a hexagonal lattice and element composition close to the sputtered target was observed. The structure state of the material changed from cluster-crystalline (under low sputter potentials U=0.6?1.0 kV) to textured- crystalline (under U>2.2 kV). Structure perfection improvement with U increase results in higher hardness and elastic modulus of condensates. The conditions of cluster component formation and its effect on hardness and elastic modulus of condensates are discussed. .