Abstract
Ti-Al-N coatings were deposited on high-speed steel substrates by filtered vacuum arc deposition (FVAD) during evaporation of aluminum and titanium cathodes. Distribution of elements, phase composition, and mechanical properties of Ti-Al-N coatings were investigated using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoindentation, respectively. Additionally, tribological tests and scratch tests of the coatings were performed. The stoichiometry of the coating changes from Ti0.6Al0.4N to Ti0.48Al0.52N with increasing aluminum arc current from 70 A to 90 A, respectively. XRD and TEM showed only face-centered cubic Ti-Al-N phase with preferred orientation of the crystallites in (220) direction with respect to the sample normal and without precipitates of AlN or intermetallics inside the coatings. Incorporation of Al into the TiN lattice caused shifting of the (220) reflex to a higher 2θ angle with increasing Al content. Low content and size of microdroplets were obtained using coaxial plasma filters, which provides good mechanical and tribological properties of the coatings. The highest value of microhardness (36 GPa) and the best wear-resistance were achieved for the coating with higher Al content, thus for Ti0.48Al0.52N. These coatings exhibit good adhesive properties up to 30 N load in the scratch tests.
Highlights
Wear-resistant coatings based on transition metal nitrides are an effective way to increase the resistance of cutting tools
The widespread technologies for super-hard wear-resistant coatings are based on evaporation of materials in a vacuum, the so called physical vapor deposition (PVD)
vacuum-arc deposition (VAD) is the main method for deposition of transition metal nitrides due to its high degree of ionization, high-energy particles (50–100 eV) and deposition rate as well as the wide range of cathode materials
Summary
Wear-resistant coatings based on transition metal nitrides are an effective way to increase the resistance of cutting tools. Various studies have noted an increase in wear-resistance up to tenfold Binary systems such as TiN are the most frequently studied wear-resistant coatings [1]. The widespread technologies for super-hard wear-resistant coatings are based on evaporation of materials in a vacuum, the so called physical vapor deposition (PVD). Among the various PVD technologies, the vacuum-arc deposition (VAD) method is the most frequent application for Ti-Al-N coating deposition [7,8,9,10]. VAD is the main method for deposition of transition metal nitrides due to its high degree of ionization, high-energy particles (50–100 eV) and deposition rate as well as the wide range of cathode materials
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