Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of TiCrZrNbNx Alloy Nitride Thin Films

Chun-Huei Tsau,Yu-Hsin Chang

doi:10.3390/e15115012

Abstract

The pure elements Ti, Zr, Cr, Nb were selected to produce an TiCrZrNb alloy target and deposited thin films thereof by a reactive high vacuum DC sputtering process. Nitrogen was used as the reactive gas to deposit the nitride thin films. The effect of nitriding on the properties of the TiCrZrNbNx film was tested by changing the nitrogen ratio of the atmosphere. All of the as-deposited TiCrZrNbNx nitride films exhibited an amorphous structure. The film thickness decreases by increasing the N2 flow rate, because the Ar flow rate decreased and the target was poisoned by nitrogen. The hardness and Young’s modulus were also measured by a nano-indenter. The hardness and Young’s modulus of the TiCrZrNbNx nitride films were all lower than those of a TiCrZrNb metallic film.

Highlights

The concept of high-entropy alloys was introduced by Yeh [1,2], using multi-principal element alloys to replace only one principal element in traditional alloys, such as steel, bronze and aluminum alloys
The structure of the particles embedded in the matrix of interdendritic region was HCP phase and had a similar dendritic structure
The nitrogen contents in the TiCrZrNbNx thin films increased significantly when the N2 flow rate was greater than 4 sccm

Summary

Introduction

The concept of high-entropy alloys was introduced by Yeh [1,2], using multi-principal element alloys to replace only one principal element in traditional alloys, such as steel, bronze and aluminum alloys. In this way the properties of the high-entropy alloys would not be dominated by any one element. Yeh explicitly explained the four core effects of the high-entropy alloys: high entropy, sluggish diffusion, severe lattice distortion, and cocktail. The present study selected titanium, chromium, zirconium and niobium to prepare the target, and deposited the alloy nitride thin films to investigate their properties

Experimental Procedures

Results and Discussion

Conclusions