Residual Stresses of Cr-N Films Deposited by Arc Ion Plating Investigated Using Synchrotron Radiation

Abstract

The structures of Cr-N films deposited by arc ion plating on steel substrates were investigated using a synchrotron radiation system that emits ultraintense X-rays. The Cr-N films were found to be mainly composed of {110} oriented CrN crystals, but they also had a small component of randomly oriented Cr2N crystals. The CrN220 diffraction shifts to a high diffraction angle as the annealing temperature increases. In contrast, the peak position of the Cr2N211 diffraction hardly changes with an increase in the annealing temperature up to 873 K. The ratio of nitrogen and oxygen to chromium at the film surface and inside in the film was estimated by Auger electron spectroscopy. After annealing at 973 K, the surface layer was oxidized, but the composition inside the Cr-N films (N/Cr = 0.83) remained unchanged. The residual stress in a 1600-nm-thick as-deposited CrN layer was found to be -11.0 GPa. The residual stresses of Cr-N films relaxed to thermal stress levels on annealing. However, the residual stress in the Cr2N layer could not be evaluated.