Influence of TiC thin film growth morphology deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on the mechanical and tribology properties of Ti6Al4V

Abstract

The research study reported the influence of RF power and temperature on the growth morphology, mechanical property and tribology behaviour of TiC thin films deposited on Ti6Al4V by RF magnetron sputtering. The RF power used was between 150 and 250 W with an interval of 50 W and the temperature was between 70 and 90 °C at an interval of 10 °C. The surface morphology and topography were examined using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope FESEM and Veeco Di2100Atomic force microscopy. Hysitron Triboindenter was used to evaluate the nanohardness and other mechanical properties of the TiC thin film coating. The film adhesion and coefficient of friction were analysed on an Anton Paar Microscratch Tester. The TiC thin film morphology reveals denser and equiaxed films as the sputtering process parameters increase. The surface topography is characterized with high peaks of TiC thin film and the surface roughness reduces with increase in RF power and temperature. The nanohardness of the TiC thin films increases as the RF power and temperature decrease. The film adhesion shows good resistance to delamination and peeling of the TiC thin film under microscratch test for all the samples.