The structure and micromechanical properties of TiAlSiN, TiAlSiCN coatings formed by the method of reactive magnetron sputtering

Abstract

   Nanostructured nitride TiAlSiN and carbonitride TiAlSiCN coatings are herein formed by reactive magnetron sputtering on various types of substrates: single-crystal silicon (100) and Titanium Grade2. To control and manage the coating process, the developed modular gas flow control complex (MGFCC) is used. The elemental composition is studied byenergy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), the structure by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), whereas the micromechanical properties by nanoindentation. It is discovered that the formed coatings over the entire range of parameters α = 0.421–0.605 have a single-phase structure (Ti,Al)N, which is a disordered solid solution with a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice. The average crystallite size of the (Ti,Al)N phase varies in the range (20–30) ± 5 nm. It is found that a decrease in the degree of reactivity α from α = 0.605 to α = 0.421 leads to an increase in the rate of deposition of nitride TiAlSiN and carbonitride TiAlSiСN coatings on silicon substrates by 200–300 %. The hardness of the formed coatings varies in the range H = 28.74–48.99 GPa, Young’s modulus E = 324.97–506.12 GPa. TiAlSiN, TiAlSiCN coatings demonstrate high values of impact strength indices H/E* = 0.07–0.12 and plastic deformation resistance indices H3/E*2 = 0.13–0.72. It is detected that the degree of reactivity α has a significant effect on the micromechanical properties of the formed coatings. The structure and micromechanical properties of the formed nanostructured nitride and carbonitride TiAlSiN, TiAlSiCN coatings are suitable for use in space technology applications.