Cathodic Arc Plasma Deposition System Research Articles

High Temperature Oxidation of ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>/Al<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB> Thin Films Deposited on Steel

Thin ZrO2/Al2O3 films that consisted of alternating monoclinic ZrO2 nanolayers and amorphous Al2O3 nanolayers were deposited on a tool steel substrate using Zr and Al cathodes in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system, and then oxidized at 600-900 degrees C in air for up to 50 h. The ZrO2/Al2O3 films effectively suppressed the oxidation of the substrate up to 800 degrees C by acting as a barrier layer against the outward diffusion of the substrate elements and inward diffusion of oxygen. However, rapid oxidation occurred at 900 degrees C due mainly to the increased diffusion and subsequent oxidation of steel as well as the crystallization of amorphous Al2O3.

Microstructure and wear performance of arc-deposited Ti–N–O coatings on AISI 304 stainless steel

A cathodic arc plasma deposition system (with variation of the O2/N2 flow ratio) was used to synthesize different Ti–N–O films on the AISI 304 stainless steel. The coating morphologies and structures were analyzed by using SEM, XRD, and TEM. The coating properties, such as adhesion, hardness, elastic modulus, and wear behavior, were explored to evaluate the impact of the O2/N2 flow ratio on the coating microstructure and properties. The results showed that the O2/N2 ratio properly controlled at 0.25 could produce an optimal film with a dense crystalline structure consisting of TiN, anatase-TiO2, and rutile-TiO2 phases, showing the best adhesion strength using a standardized ball indentation method, highest nano-indentation hardness (22.8GPa), and highest elastic modulus in comparison to other coatings. AISI 304 stainless steel with the Ti–N–O coating not only reduced the friction coefficient from 0.8 to 0.35, but also remarkably improved the adhesion wear resistance.

Oxidation of nano-multilayered CrN/AlMgSiN thin films between 600 and 900 °C in air

Thin CrN/AlMgSiN films with a composition of 30.6Cr–11.1Al–7.3Mg–1.2Si–49.8N (at.%) were deposited on steel substrates in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. They consisted of alternating crystalline Cr–N and AlMgSiN nanolayers. During oxidation at 800°C for 200h in air, a thin oxide layer was formed by outward diffusion of Cr, Mg, Al, Fe, and nitrogen, and inward diffusion of oxygen. Silicon was relatively immobile at 800°C. The oxidation at 900°C for 10h in air resulted in the formation of a thin Cr2O3 layer containing dissolved ions of Al, Mg, Si, and Fe. Silicon became mobile at 900°C. The oxidation at 900°C for 50h in air resulted in the formation of a thin SiO2-rich layer underneath the thin Cr2O3 layer. The film displayed good oxidation resistance. The main factor that decreased the oxidation resistance of the film was the outward diffusion and subsequent oxidation of Fe at the sample surface, particularly along the coated sample edge.

Effect of the Si content on the structure, mechanical and tribological properties of CrN/AlSiN thin films

Thin films of CrN/AlSiN were deposited on SKD 11 tool steel and Si wafer substrates using Cr and AlSi alloy (0at.% Si, 12at.% Si, 15at.% Si and 18at.% Si) cathodes in a nitrogen gas flow in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The effect of Si addition on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of the films was investigated. The CrN/AlSiN thin films had a multilayered structure by rotating the substrate in which nano-crystalline CrN layers alternated with amorphous AlSiN layers, while CrN/AlN thin film contained nano-crystalline CrN layers alternated with hcp type AlN layers. The CrN/AlN thin film exhibited low hardness and low wear resistance. As the Si content in the amorphous AlSiN layers increased, the hardness and wear resistance of CrN/AlSiN thin films increased. The films deposited using Al0.82Si0.18 alloy cathode showed a maximum hardness of 47GPa and excellent wear resistance, in which a low coefficient of friction of 0.28 and low wear rate of 6.67×10−7mm3/Nm were presented. We also presented the simulation of amorphous AlSiN models with different Si contents. The simulation revealed that the Young's modulus, yield stress and flow stress increased with the increase of Si content in amorphous AlSiN models.

Cathodic arc plasma deposition of nano-multilayered ZrN/AlSiN thin films

Thin films of ZrN/AlSiN were deposited on SKD 11 tool steel substrate using Zr and AlSi cathodes in an Ar/N 2 gas mixture in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The influence of the AlSi cathode arc current and the substrate bias voltage on the mechanical and structural properties of the films was investigated. X-ray diffraction, electron probe micro-analysis, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, nanoindentation and profilometry were used to characterize the films. The ZrN/AlSiN thin films had a multilayered structure by rotating the substrate in which nano-crystalline ZrN layers alternated with amorphous AlSiN layers. The hardness of the films increased as the AlSi cathode arc current was raised from 35 to 40 A, and then decreased with a further increase of the current. The hardness of the films increased with the increase of the bias voltage from − 50 to − 100 V. Further increase in the bias voltage decreased the hardness. The films exhibited a maximum hardness of 38 GPa. With the increase of bias voltage, the residual stress of the films correlated well with the hardness.

Oxidation of nano-multilayered CrAlBN thin films between 600 and 1000 °C in air

Thin CrAlBN films, whose composition were 41.5Cr-8.0Al-0.2B-50.3 N (at.%), were deposited on steel substrates in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. They consisted of alternating crystalline Cr 2N and AlBN nanolayers. The CrAlBN film oxidized faster than the CrAlSiN film. After oxidation at 900 °C for 50 h in air, a thin Cr 2O 3 layer, containing dissolved Al and Fe ions, formed via outward diffusion of Cr, Al, and Fe ions. After oxidation at 1000 °C for 50 h in air, bi-layered oxides formed, comprising an outer Cr 2O 3 layer containing dissolved Al and Fe ions, and an inner (Cr 2O 3,Al 2O 3,Fe 3O 4)-mixed layer. The outer oxide layer formed primarily by outward diffusion of Cr, Al, and Fe ions, while the inner mixed layer formed primarily by inward diffusion of O −2 ions.

Cathodic arc plasma deposited TiAlSiN thin films using an Al-15 at.% Si cathode

Thin films of TiAlSiN were deposited on SKD 11 tool steel substrates using two cathodes, of Ti and Al-15 at.% Si, in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The influence of AlSi cathode arc current and substrate bias voltage on the mechanical and structural properties of the films was investigated. The TiAlSiN films had a multilayered structure in which nanocrystalline cubic TiN layers alternated with nanocrystalline hexagonal AlSiN layers. The hardness of the films decreased with the increase of the AlSi cathode arc current. The hardness of the films also decreased as the bias voltage was raised from − 50 V to − 200 V. The maximum hardness of 43 GPa was observed at the films deposited at the pressure 0.4 Pa, Ti cathode arc current 55 A, Al cathode arc current 35 A, temperature 250 °C and bias voltage of − 50 V.

Deposition of nanolayered CrN/AlBN thin films by cathodic arc deposition: Influence of cathode arc current and bias voltage on the mechanical properties

Thin films of CrAlBN were deposited on SKD 11 tool steel substrate using Cr and AlB cathodes in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The influence of AlB cathode arc current and substrate bias voltage on the mechanical and the structural properties of the films was investigated. The CrAlBN thin films had a multilayered structure in which the nano-crystalline CrN layer alternated with the amorphous AlBN layer. The hardness of the films increased as the AlB cathode arc current was raised from 35 to 45 A, and then decreased with further increase of the current. The hardness of the films increased rapidly with the increase of the bias voltage from − 50 to − 150 V. Further increase in the bias voltage decreased the hardness. The maximum hardness of 48 GPa was obtained at the bias voltage of − 150 V. With the increase of bias voltage, a good correlation between the residual stress and the hardness of the films was observed.

Cathodic arc plasma deposition of nano-multilayered Zr–O/Al–O thin films

Thin films of Zr–O/Al–O were deposited on SKD 11 tool steel substrate using Zr and Al cathodes in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The substrates were mounted on a rotating holder which alternatively exposed them to plasma from the two cathodes. The influence of the Zr and Al cathode arc currents and the substrate bias on the mechanical and the structural properties of the films were investigated. Films with a nano-layered structure of alternating Al-rich and Zr-rich layers were obtained. The Zr layers contained nano-crystallites of (101) oriented t-ZrO structure. Crystallites with α-Al 2O 3 structure were observed only when the substrate was negatively biased in the 100–150 V range. The hardness of the film decreased with the increase of Zr cathode current from 60 to 80 A, increased when the Al cathode current increased from 25 to 30 A, and decreased when the Al cathode current increased from 30 to 35 A. The hardness of the film increased with the increase of bias voltage up to − 150 V and then decreased with further increase of the negative bias. The film structure was elucidated by HRTEM microscopy. Good correlation between the residual stress and the hardness enhancement of the films was observed.

Effect of cathode arc current and bias voltage on the mechanical properties of CrAlSiN thin films

Thin films of CrAlSiN were deposited on SKD 11 tool steel substrate using Cr and AlSi cathodes by a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The influence of AlSi cathode arc current and bias voltage on the mechanical and the structural properties of the films were investigated. The CrAlSiN films have a multilayered structure in which the nano-crystalline CrN layers alternate with nano-amorphous AlSiN layers. The hardness of the film increased with the increase of aluminum-silicon cathode arc current from 35 A to 50 A. Further increases in the current decreased the hardness. The maximum hardness of 42 GPa was obtained at the current of 50 A. The hardness of the film increased with the increase of the bias voltage up to −100 V. Further increases in the bias voltage decreased the hardness of the films. The period of the film decreased with the increase of the bias voltage. The maximum hardness was observed with the films deposited at the bias voltage of −100 V.

Deposition of superhard nanolayered TiCrAlSiN thin films by cathodic arc plasma deposition

Thin films of TiCrAlSiN were deposited on SKD 11 tool steel substrate using TiCr and AlSi cathodes by a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The influence of nitrogen pressure, AlSi cathode arc current and bias voltage on the mechanical and structural properties of the films were investigated. The hardness of the films increased with the increase of the nitrogen pressure from 0.4 Pa to 4 Pa. A further increase in pressure decreased the film hardness. The hardness of the films increased as the AlSi cathode arc current was raised from 40 A to 45 A, and then decreased with further increase of the current. The film hardness increased rapidly from 0 V to −100 V. It then leveled off with a further increase of the bias voltage. The films exhibited a maximum hardness of 43 GPa.

Oxidation behavior of chromium nitride films

Chromium nitride (CrN) films were deposited onto (100) silicon using a commercially available cathodic arc plasma deposition system. Oxidation of the films was conducted in air at temperatures ranging from 650 to 850 °C for 2 h. X-ray diffraction spectra revealed that Cr2O3 diffraction peaks appeared above 650 °C and the relative integrated intensity of the oxide increased gradually with temperatures. Moreover, five vibration bands associated with Cr2O3 were discerned in Raman spectra above this temperature. Nano-granular structure showed up at 650 °C, while abnormal grain growth resulting from the grain coalescence occurred above 800 °C. A thin dense oxide overlayer was present at 650 °C and the oxide thickness increased gradually with temperatures. Meanwhile, underneath CrN grains grew drastically above 700 °C and became more equiaxially-grained at 850 °C. The pre-exponential factor and activation energy of oxidation for CrN films were evaluated by analyzing the Arrhenius relation from the temperature dependence of oxide thickness. The obtained values were 1.3×10−8 cm2/s and 110±6 kJ/mol, respectively, which is comparable to the literature data.

Deposition of superhard TiAlSiN thin films by cathodic arc plasma deposition

Thin films of TiAlSiN were deposited on AISI H13 tool steel substrate using Ti and AlSi cathodes by a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The influence of the nitrogen pressure, AlSi cathode arc current, bias voltage, and deposition temperature on the mechanical and the structural properties of the films were investigated. The hardness of the film decreased with the increase of nitrogen gas pressure. The hardness of the film increased with the increase of AlSi cathode arc current and the bias voltage. The hardness of the film reached 48 GPa at the deposition temperature of 300 °C and decreased with a further increase of the temperature. Wear and scratch tests were performed on thin films deposited in various conditions. The critical load of the films was above 50 N.

Twist filter for the removal of macroparticles from cathodic arc plasmas

Cathodic arc plasmas are known to be contaminated with macroparticles. A variety of magnetic plasma filters have been used with various success in removing the macroparticles from the plasma. In this publication, an open-architecture, double-bent filter that is twisted (‘Twist Filter™’) is described. A cathodic arc plasma deposition system was designed around this novel, very compact and efficient filter. Its major application is the deposition of ultrathin amorphous hard carbon (a-C) films for the magnetic storage industry.

The deposition and wear properties of cathodic arc plasma deposition TiAIN deposits

TiAIN coatings on tool steel were produced with a cathodic arc plasma deposition system. The Taguchi experimental design was applied to achieve the optimum wear-resistant coating. Substrate bias, nitrogen partial pressure and target composition were found to be among the most influential variables that govern the wear resistance of the coatings. The coating properties investigated in the present work include the surface roughness, scanning electron microscope (SEM) surface micrographs, X-ray diffraction (XRD) phase identification, coating microstructure, coating compositions, wear surface micrographs and elemental analysis. The microstructure, microhardness, coating Ti content and residence of wearing debris were found to significantly affect the wear resistance of the coatings.

Low temperature growth of diamond-like films by cathodic arc plasma deposition

Diamond-like films with electrical resistivity exceeding 10 8 Ω·cm are grown successfully on silicon substrates at 40°C in a cathodic arc plasma deposition system with a steered-arc source. The substrate is placed in an atmosphere of argon/oxygen mixture and RF-bias is applied. Low density graphite serves as a cathode target and a carbon source. The magnetic field due to magnets behind the graphite target makes the arc spot move. The observed speed of the steered-arc spot is strongly dependent on the magnitude of the applied arc current and the intensity of the radial magnetic field at the surface of the target. Addition of O 2 to the system tends to improve the quality of the diamond-like films by increasing the sp 3-C sp 2-C ratio and reducing the number and size of graphite microparticles with decreased deposition rate of the films. The application of RF-bias also appears to have a similar beneficial effect on the quality of the films.