Microstructural evolution of titanium nitride (TiN) coatings produced by reactive ion beam-assisted, electron beam physical vapor deposition (RIBA, EB-PVD)

Abstract

Titanium nitride (TiN) coatings have been successfully deposited on 304 stainless steel substrates by reactive ion beam-assisted, electron beam-physical vapor deposition (RIBA, EB-PVD). The hardness values of the TiN coatings varied from 800 to 2500 VHN depending on the processing condition. The lattice parameter and hardness variation were correlated with processing parameters such as: deposition rate, bias, ion source energies, process gas, substrate temperature, and coating composition. The hardness of the TiN coatings increased with increasing ion energy. The ion energies combined with the deposition rate were the limiting factors controlling the degree of surface texturing. Surface texturing was only observed for those coatings deposited >8 A/s.