Arc Deposition Method Research Articles

Cathodic arc deposited tetrahedral amorphous carbon as thin film contact pressure sensing material

Tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) film was deposited using the filtered pulsed cathodic arc deposition method. The ta-C structures deposited on high velocity oxygen fuel thermally sprayed steel beam substrates were investigated for piezoresistive properties under direct contact pressing. A load of up to 1.4 GPa was applied with point contact, with no detrimental influence on the material. The linear response for the strain applied homogeneously on the whole film surface and on the local portion of the film surface under a cylindrical contact was observed. A high gauge factor of the measured system of 305 was measured, showing the potential of the material as a good candidate for sensing applications on direct contact measurement devices.

Arc deposition oxide-modified H13 steel: Investigating the structure of oxygen-containing second-phase particles and their influence on the microstructure

The challenge associated with depositing high-strength steel using the arc deposition method lies in the propensity for hardened microstructures to form during the deposition process. This hardened microstructure can lead to a decrease in material toughness and potentially cause cold cracks. Fortunately, oxide metallurgy technology is expected to address this issue. Specifically, nano oxides can refine the grain and induce the formation of intracrystalline ferrite, thereby enhancing steel's toughness. To gain a deeper understanding of this process, a study was conducted on the morphology and structure of oxygen-containing second-phase particles generated in parts made from H13 steel wire modified with Al2O3, TiO2, and SiO2. Additionally, the impact of these oxygen-containing second-phase particles on microstructure transformation was investigated. The following conclusions were drawn from the study: (1) The arc's high temperature causes complex reactions among the oxides in the molten pool, ultimately resulting in the formation of oxygen-containing second-phase particles with a unique core-shell structure. The size and composition of these particles vary within the interdendritic and intradendritic regions due to element segregation. (2) Through in-situ observations, this study discovered that oxygen-containing second-phase particles promote the nucleation of high-temperature ferrite and austenite. This promotes grain refinement and induces the formation of intracrystalline ferrite, which positively impacts material toughness. (3) The driving force for ferrite phase transformation induced by oxygen-containing second-phase particles may stem from the Mn-depleted zone surrounding the particles and the low mismatch between the VC outer layer of the particles and the ferrite.

Structural and Tribology Properties of Ti-Al-C Coatings Deposited by Vacuum Arc Method

The composition, structure, and tribological characteristics at 20 °C and 500 °C of coatings obtained by the vacuum arc deposition method using a MAX phase Ti2AlC based cathode were investigated. These characteristics were compared to those of titanium nitride coating. It was shown that at a potential of -50 V, a composite coating of TiC and Ti3AlC phases forms. Meanwhile, at a potential of -100 V, a composite consisting of TiC and α-Ti is formed. At 20 °C, the friction coefficient and specific wear rate of these coatings in contact with a ball made of ShKh15 steel under a load of 2 N are comparable to those of TiN coating. At 500 °C, the wear resistance of the composite (TiC+α-Ti) coating is twice as high as that of TiN coatings. There was no clear correlation between microhardness and the tribological characteristics of the coatings.

Micro structure and wear analysis of multi-layer nitride coating deposited on the austenitic steel

Utilizing the appropriate technology, the surface property must be improved to offset wear loss caused by friction. Hard ceramic coating compounds include titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium aluminium nitride (TiAlN). The cathodic arc deposition method's effects on the stainless steel (SS304) mechanical and wear properties (CAD) Measurements and comparisons are made for the coated samples of the wear rate microstructural study. In the ball-on-disc wear test, the tribological parameters are altered. Compared to different kinds of coatings, The TiN coating offers remarkable mechanical and tribological qualities on the SS316L surface. the microstructure of the wear areas of materials coated with titanium nitrate and aluminium titanium nitride under various loads. Compared to non-coated material, the titanium nitride and aluminium titanium nitride coated materials have high wear resistance.

Comparison of Mechanical and Tribological Properties of TiN and ZrN Coatings Deposited by Arc-PVD

The continuous development of thin coatings for different applications and using various coating meth-ods require the characterization of these newly formed surfaces to evaluate their utility properties. Binary thin coatings of titanium (TiN) and zirconium (ZrN) nitrides were prepared using the Arc-PVD (Ca-thodic Arc Deposition) method. Differences were observed in the structure and morphology of the thin coatings and the change in tribological properties at room and elevated temperatures (150 °C and 300 °C). The research is focused on evaluating the frictional properties of the coating using the Ball-on-Disc method in the dry friction mode. The emphasis is placed on the resistance of the thin coating to wear. The nanohardness was measured to be 26.2 GPa for TiN and 24.8 GPa for ZrN. Index of resistivity against plastic deformation H³/E² (plastic deformation resistance) for ZrN coating – 0.087 and TiN coating – 0.095, H/E (plasticity index) for ZrN – 0.059 and TiN – 0.060. Better friction properties and wear resistance (at 150 °C) were found for the TiN coating compared to the ZrN coating.

Đánh giá khả năng chống ăn mòn của màng (Ti, Cr)N được chế tạo bằng phương pháp hồ quang cathod (arc-PVD) trên nền thép SS304

The monolayer (TiN/Ti), multilayer single-component (Ti/TiN; Ti/CrN) and multilayer multicomponent (Ti/TiN/CrN; Ti/CrN/TiN) films were deposited on SS304 steel by cathodic arc deposition method with an average thickness of 2300 nm. Research results showed that many macro particles (peaks) and holes (valleys) appeared and evenly distributed on the surface, the monolayer film had better quality (Ra = 0,08-0,1 µm) than the multilayer film (Ra = 0,1÷0,2 µm), but the adhesion to the substrate was poor. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy recorded the preferred orientation (111) with monolayer films and switched to (200) with multilayer films. The corrosion potential and current of the fabricated films were both reduced compared to the SS304, but in the multilayer films, the expansion of the passive regions was recorded: -0,2÷0,6 V (Ti/TiN/CrN Ti/CrN/TiN) and -0,2÷0,2 V (TiN/Ti, CrN/Ti).

Metal Coating by TIG Arc Deposition Method

Metal (Aluminum) coating was prepared on stainless steel substrate by arc deposition method using TIG Welding machine. Plasma spray is a type of metal coating that is widely used in the industry and its preparation cost is expensive. It is also the most flexible method to apply a wide variety of coatings on a substrate. To reduce the cost of the set-up, the plasma will be generated by using a TIG welding machine to replace the plasma spray. The use of powder which is aluminium as a coating raw material causes almost no restrictions on the use of coating materials used in the plasma melting process. The changing parameters in this experiment are the angle nozzle powder and the flow rate of the working gas which is Argon (Ar) gas and the substrate used is SUS304 stainless steel and the feedstock powder used is Aluminium (Al) powder with an average size of 5 μm. Flow rate used in this study was 10,20 and 30 l/min of Ar and the powder nozzle spray angle was 45°, The live image, diameter, thickness, and surface roughness of the coatings were systematically analyzed using LEXT OLS5000 3D Measuring Laser Microscope.

Effect of C doping on structure and properties of TiAlCrN coatings by filter cathode vacuum arc deposition

Ultra-hard and wear-resistant (TiAlCrN)C coatings were deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition method under the conditions of a fixed N2 flow rate (30 sccm) and an C2H2 flow rate of 0, 5, 10, 30 and 50 sccm. The effect of C2H2 gas flow on the phase structure, mechanical properties, friction properties, as well as corrosion resistance properties of the coating was studied systematically. The results show that C atoms exist in the form of replacing N atoms in the coating, making the coating structure more refined and transforming from a single face-centered cubic (fcc) to an amorphous state. A proper amount of carbon content aggravates the solid solution strengthening and lattice distortion effect of the coating, and increase the hardness of the coating. The coating (Fc = 10 sccm) presents ultra-high hardness (45.95 GPa), excellent wear resistance (1.1 × 10−6 mm3 N−1 m−1) and corrosion resistance properties (2.488 × 10−7 A·cm−2). When excessive carbon was incorporated into the coating (Fc ≥ 10 sccm), a large amount of N was supplanted by C, and the soft amorphous carbon increased in the coating, which reduced the hardness and H/E of the coating, resulting in an increase in the wear rate. The (TiAlCrN)C coating exhibits excellent wear resistance and corrosion resistance, and shows potential application value in surface protection in extreme environments.

The influence of substrate bias on the surface morphology, microstructure and mechanical behaviour of TiNiN coatings

The application of a negative substrate bias during physical vapor deposition can have important effects on the surface morphology, structure and properties of ceramic-based coatings. In this study, a number of TiNiN coatings were prepared onto AISI M2 steel substrates via cathodic arc deposition method by employing a range of different negative substrate bias voltages. The objective of this work is to study the influence of bias voltage on the surface morphology, microstructure and mechanical characteristics of these thin films. A change from a fine columnar grained structure to highly refined equiaxed grains was noted with increasing bias from 0 to −50 V, associated with the energetic ion bombardment at the higher substrate bias. A very high hardness value of ∼ 34.2 GPa was attained at a −100 V substrate bias, which was attributed to the synergistic effects of a number of factors such as the presence of compressive residual stresses, solid solution hardening effects along with grain refinement. In addition, significant reduction in the density of microparticle-related defects generated in these coatings was achieved at ≥ -100 V, which can presumably be ascribed to the higher repulsive force induced at higher substrate bias values.

Improvement of anti‐erosion performance of TiN coatings through using a filtration cathode vacuum arc deposition method

AbstractSand erosion is a major factor that shortens the service life of aircraft in desert regions. The anti‐erosion performance of titanium alloys may be improved using TiN coatings. However, few studies have employed Ti sputtering on Ti transition layers to improve the erosion resistance of the coatings. Herein, TiN coatings with a sputtering layer between the Ti transition layer and the TiN layer were deposited on a Ti–6Al–4V alloy by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition. For comparison, another group of TiN coatings without a Ti sputtering layer but processed using the same deposition parameters were prepared. The effects of the nanoscale sputtering layer on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and anti‐erosion performance of the coatings were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and nanoindentation. The results show that the introduction of a Ti sputtering layer promoted the growth of TiN grains, leading to the formation of finer and denser TiN columnar grains. The preferred orientation of the coatings with the sputtering layer is (111) plane, whereas that of the coatings without the sputtering layer is (200) plane. The TiN coatings containing a sputtering layer exhibit higher hardness, elastic modulus, and H3/E2 ratio, which enhances the anti‐erosion performance of the coatings. The coatings with a sputtering layer exhibited better erosion resistance (erosion rate reduced by 75%) than the coatings without a sputtering layer. The underlying mechanism to understand the effect of the sputtering layer on the erosion resistance was discussed based on variations in the microstructure and mechanical properties of the coatings with and without the Ti sputtering layer. Ti sputtering layer was finally proved to be an effective method to improve the erosion resistance of TiN coatings.

Study of high temperature oxidation of zirconium fuel element claddings with chromiferous coatings

This paper presents the results of the study of resistance to corrosion of zirconium fuel element cladding fragments protected with nichrome and chrome coatings. Experiments were conducted on coatings deposition on fuel element claddings by cathodic arc deposition and electrochemical deposition methods. Argon ion beam pretreatment of the cladding surface is shown to have a beneficial effect on coating adhesion. Studies of resilience of the coatings were conducted in the atmosphere of super-heated steam at 900 °C and with an exposure of up to 10000 seconds. It has been shown that the coatings deposited impede formation of ZrO2 oxide layer at the outer surface and reduce the depth of oxygen penetration into the metallic sublayer as compared with the samples in their original condition.

Improvement of drilling performance by overcoating diamond-like carbon films on diamond-coated drills for carbon fiber reinforced plastics processing

The hardness and hydrogen content of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films vary depending on the film deposition methods and conditions. Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), known as hard-to-machine materials, have been widely used for industrial aircrafts that require structural materials. In this study, the effects of the hardness and hydrogen content in DLC films on the drilling performance of CFRP drills were investigated. Various DLC films, prepared using the T-shaped filtered arc deposition method, were used to coat diamond-coated drills for CFRP processing. The drilling test of the CFRP plates revealed that the occurrence of burrs was suppressed using the drill coated with a hard DLC film containing small amounts of hydrogen, classified as a hydrogenated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:H) film. The spherical polishing test of the CFRP plate using DLC-coated balls demonstrated that the DLC films containing hydrogen suppressed the adhesion of the resin material constituting the CFRP. The coating of hard DLC films containing small amounts of hydrogen, such as a ta-C:H film, significantly improved the drilling performance of diamond-coated drills for CFRP processing. The performance improvement of CFRP drills expands the range of CFRP processing conditions.

Experimental Investigation on the Frictional Wear Behaviour of TiAlN Coated Brake Pads

The brake pad is one of the imperative portions of the braking system of any automobile; which is mounted on a brake-disc rotor on each wheel; the brake pads were made by different types of materials. In recent research focuses on using Titanium (Ti) alloy-based brake pads for sophisticated cars (lightweight automobiles) and sports cars because of its high fracture toughness at low density. The most commonly preferred grade of Ti alloy is Grade 2 with 99.5% pure, but in the recent research, it was found that the Ti alloy grade 5 has good thermal stability; so, it can withstand a high tribo-thermal zone like the braking system. This study aims to investigate the frictional wear behaviour of the Ti alloy grade 5 and its performance and it is improved furtherly coating with Titanium Aluminium Nitride (TiAlN). The TiAlN is coated over the Ti alloy using Cathodic Arc Deposition (CAD) method; its surface properties such as surface hardness, surface morphology, surface roughness, and coating thickness are characterized. The wear test is conducted to the TiAlN coated Ti discs as per ASTM G99 (American Society for Testing and Materials) in against OHNS balls (Oil Hardened Nickel Steel). The Coefficient of Friction (COF) of the TiAlN coated Ti alloy has been reduced twice the time when compared with the uncoated Ti alloy. The surface morphology of the worn surfaces studied after the wear test to study the causes of the phenomenon. It reveals that the enhanced surface properties and better resistance to micro thermal effects are reasons for the improved wear resistance of the TiAlN coated Ti alloy.

Effect of TiN/Ti coating combined with laser shock peening pre-treatment on the fatigue strength of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy

The multilayer gradient TiN/Ti coating was deposited by using filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition method. The laser shock peening (LSP) process was carried out before deposition. The surface morphology, mechanical properties were measured by atomic force microscope (AFM), nanoindentation and scratch tester. The fatigue strength was investigated on a vibration test platform and the fracture morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the compound process has little negative influence on the roughness. A hardened layer with high hardness and compressive residual stress was formed by the LSP pre-treatment. This layer can also suppress plastic deformation, making the adhesion strength between the coating and substrate increased from 54.9 N to 79.1 N. The TiN/Ti coating and the compound process improve the fatigue strength of TC4 alloy by 58.1% and 98.8%, respectively. The coating can restrain crack initiation on the surface and slow its propagation. The crack initiation location of the compound process sample moved into the deeper site and the improved adhesion strength further reduces the crack propagation rate. Thus, the compound process of TiN/Ti coating combined with laser shock peening pre-treatment greatly improves the fatigue strength of TC4 alloy.

Corrosion and wear behavior of TiN PVD coated 304 stainless-steel

Ti/TiN multilayered physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings were deposited on stainless-steel by cathodic arc deposition method. Bare sample of stainless steel 304 was compared with monolithic TiN coating and TiN coating having 2, 4, 6 and 8 Ti interlayers. The properties like corrosion and wear resistance were studied and analyzed comparatively. Potentiodynamic polarization curves showed that highest corrosion resistance was indicated by TiN coating with 8 Ti interlayers. Sample having 8 Ti interlayers have high corrosion potential (Ecorr) and low corrosion current density (Icorr) as compared to other samples. This may be attributed to the arrangement of interlayers that prevents the corrosive agents to penetrate surface. All multi-layered coatings show better results than the substrate material. Pin on disk wear test revealed that coating having monolithic TiN layer have the lowest coefficient of friction and consequently have less wear volume and wear rate as compared to other coatings with Ti interlayers. These results made the investigated coated stainless steel 304 valuable for wide range of industrial applications that required wear and corrosion resistance.

Improvement of CoCr Alloy Characteristics by Ti-Based Carbonitride Coatings Used in Orthopedic Applications

The response of the human body to implanted biomaterials involves several complex reactions. The potential success of implantation depends on the knowledge of the interaction between the biomaterials and the corrosive environment prior to the implantation. Thus, in the present study, the in vitro corrosion behavior of biocompatible carbonitride-based coatings are discussed, based on microstructure, mechanical properties, roughness and morphology. TiCN and TiSiCN coatings were prepared by the cathodic arc deposition method and were analyzed as a possible solution for load bearing implants. It was found that both coatings have an almost stoichiometric structure, being solid solutions, which consist of a mixture of TiC and TiN, with a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. The crystallite size decreased with the addition of Si into the TiCN matrix: the crystallite size of TiCN was 16.4 nm, while TiSiCN was 14.6 nm. The addition of Si into TiCN resulted in smaller Ra roughness values, indicating a beneficial effect of Si. All investigated surfaces have positive skewness, being adequate for the load bearing implants, which work in a corrosive environment. The hardness of the TiCN coating was 36.6 ± 2.9 GPa and was significantly increased to 47.4 ± 1 GPa when small amounts of Si were added into the TiCN layer structure. A sharp increase in resistance to plastic deformation (H3/E2 ratio) from 0.63 to 1.1 was found after the addition of Si into the TiCN matrix. The most electropositive value of corrosion potential was found for the TiSiCN coating (−14 mV), as well as the smallest value of corrosion current density (49.6 nA cm2), indicating good corrosion resistance in 90% DMEM + 10% FBS, at 37 ± 0.5 °C.

Microstructure and Wear of (CrN/CrAlN)/(CrAlN/VN) and (CrN/TiAlN)/(TiAlN/VN) Coatings for Molds Used in High Pressure Casting of Aluminum

Molds made of tool steels used in aluminum high-pressure die casting should routinely withstand tens of thousands of injection cycles, but repeated loading and temperature spikes result in their frequent premature wear. Extending their lifetime could be sought by nitriding or application of coatings of even higher hardness or both. Therefore, in the present experiment the arc-deposited Cr/(CrN)/nx(CrN/CrAlN)/mx(CrAlN/VN) or Cr/(CrN)/nx(CrN/TiAlN)/mx(TiAlN/VN) nano-multilayer stacks were deposited on glow discharge nitrided X40CrMoV5.1 steel. The scanning and transmission electron microscopy backed by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy measurements of local chemical composition helped to confirm that the coatings are built of nanolayers of respective nitrides of period less than 10 nm. They also showed that droplets being characteristic for arc deposition method were enriched either in chromium, aluminum or vanadium but not in titanium. Both coatings presented comparable hardness of ~25 GPa, but the one covered with TiAlN/VN was roughly twice as wear resistant as the CrAlN/VN. Simultaneously, they were ~200 and ~100 more wear resistant than X40CrMoV5.1reference steel.

Electrical resistivity and mechanical properties of nitrogen-containing diamondlike carbon/tungsten and nitrogen-containing diamondlike carbon/tungsten carbide multilayer films prepared under low substrate temperature

Nitrogen-containing diamondlike carbon (N-DLC) films are excellent surface protection films with high wear resistance and low electrical resistivity. In this paper, N-DLC/tungsten (W) and N-DLC/tungsten carbide (WC) multilayer films with low-electrical-resistance layers formed between N-DLC layers are presented. W or WC layers were formed as a low-electrical-resistance layer using unbalanced magnetron sputtering methods at a low substrate temperature. N-DLC layers were fabricated by the T-shape filtered arc deposition method. The N-DLC/WC multilayer films showed higher polishing resistance compared with the N-DLC single-layer films, and the electrical resistivity of the multilayer films was about half compared with single-layer films. The high polishing resistance of the multilayer films was considered to be due to the WC layers acting as a hard layer and the N-DLC layers acting as a cushion layer to absorb the film load.

Sand erosion resistance improvement and damage mechanism of TiAlN coating via the bias-graded voltage in FCVA deposition

Titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) coatings were deposited on Ti6Al4V alloy substrates using a filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition method with bias-graded voltage ranging from -50 V to -200 V and constant bias voltage (-50 V, -125 V, and -200 V). The microstructure and mechanical properties of these coatings were investigated and compared. Sand erosion resistance at 30° and 90° was evaluated using sandblasting equipment. The coating deposited at a constant bias voltage of -200 V had the highest average hardness of 32.47 GPa. The bias-graded coating had a similar average hardness (32.08 GPa), but lower internal stress (-2.66 GPa) and considerably higher adhesion strength (44.03 N) than the constant-bias coatings. For both erosion angles (30° and 90°), the erosion rates of the constant-bias coatings increased with increasing bias voltage. In general, the erosion rates of the bias-graded coating (0.014 and 0.013 mg/g at erosion angles of 30° and 90°, respectively) were significantly lower than that of the constant-bias coatings. Bias-graded deposition is an effective method of improving the erosion resistance of coatings. The erosion mechanism of the coatings is coating chipping. The excellent erosion resistance of the bias-graded TiAlN coating is attributed to the high hardness and low internal stress of this coating.

Self-supporting tetrahedral amorphous carbon films consisting of multilayered structure prepared using filtered arc deposition

Self-supporting 110-nm-thick tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films with a multilayered structure were fabricated as a carbon film target for the laser-driven ion acceleration. The self-supporting ta-C films consisted of three layers with the thicknesses of 35 nm, 40 nm, and 35 nm thick, and the film density of 3.0 g/cm3, 2.7 g/cm3, and 3.0 g/cm3, respectively. The multilayered ta-C film was fabricated using the T-shape filtered arc deposition method on a Si substrate coated water-soluble material. Silk fibroin and dextran were used as the water-soluble material. The water-soluble material formed between a ta-C film and a Si substrate was dissolved, and then, the ta-C film released from the substrate. Thick single-layer ta-C films partially peeled off on the water-soluble material and broke during the dissolving process. Self-supporting ta-C films were obtained by scooping the released ta-C film on a perforated substrate. The laser was irradiated on the self-supporting ta-C films, and the ta-C film with a higher film thickness and/or film density showed a higher laser irradiation tolerance.