Properties of TiAlCN/VCN Nanoscale Multilayer Coatings Deposited by Mixed High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) and Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering Processes—Impact of HiPIMS During Coating

摘要

Nanoscale multilayer TiAlCN/VCN coating has been deposited by pure unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBM) and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS)–UBM techniques. The $ hbox{V}^{+}$ HiPIMS etching used in both processes has shown excellent adhesion $(Lc > 50)$ of the coating to the substrate. The plasma compositional analysis of $hbox{V}^{+}$ HiPIMS etching has shown high metal-to-gas ion ratio with ionization states of V up to $5+$ . Moreover, during the coating of TiAlCN/VCN, the plasma analysis has confirmed the higher production rate of metal ions in the case of HiPIMS–UBM in contrast to pure UBM. This has resulted to a denser closed columnar microstructure of the coating during the HiPIMS–UBM technique than UBM. A thermogravimetric analysis has shown increased oxidation-resistance temperature for coatings deposited by HiPIMS–UBM $(approx!780 ^{circ}hbox{C})$ with significantly lower mass gain. The scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction studies of the oxidized surface of the coating have revealed the formation of lubricant Magneli phase oxides of $hbox{V}_{2}hbox{O}_{5}$ and $hbox{TiO}_{2}$ at elevated temperature. The wear coefficient of the coating deposited by HiPIMS–UBM has shown two orders of magnitude lower value than that for the UBM-deposited coatings, which represents significant advantage for coatings deposited by UBM. This enhanced performance in oxidation-resistance dry sliding wear conditions can be attributed to th-n-ne extremely dense structure of the HiPIMS coatings, which could be promising in elevated temperature applications.