Abstract
The fine-scale micrcstructure of V−C coatings has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been used to identify the global microstructure. These coatings of thickness a few micrometers were obtained by reactive triode magnetron sputtering in an Ar−C 2H 2 mixture. The major objective has been to examine the way in which a deposition process variable (reactive gas flow) affected the coating microstructure and enhanced the tribological properties. Some difficulties have been encountered in the interpretation and the indexing of XRD profiles. These problems were resolved by the TEM study which illustrated how the carbon content of the coating controls the grain size and crystal structure. The VC grain size decreased with increasing the carbon content in the coating and tended towards a configuration of nanocrystallitcs of VC surrounded by an amorphous carbon matrix. Such structure offers good tribological properties, i.e. low friction coefficient and wear resistance for a dry-wear ceramic—metal test. The microstructure results are presented and discussed briefly in terms of the influence on the hardness, friction and wear.
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