저널

Superhard TiN coatings were fabricated by DC and ICP (inductively coupled plasma) assisted magnetron sputtering techniques. The effect of ICP power, ranging from 0 to 300 W, on coating microstructure, preferred orientation mechanical properties were systematically investigated with HR-XRD, SEM, AFM and nanoindentation. The results show that ICP power has a significant influence on coating microstructure and mechanical properties of TiN coatings. With the increasing of ICP power, coating microstructure evolves from the columnar structure of DC process to a highly dense one. Grain sizes of TiN coatings were decreased from 12.6 nm to 8.7 nm with increase of ICP power. The maximum nanohardness of 67.6 GPa was obtained for the coatings deposited at ICP power of 300 W. Preferred orientation in TiN coatings also vary with ICP power, exerting an effective influence on film nanohardness.

Superhard;Inductively coupled plasma;ICP power;Crystal grain size;Residual stress;