Characterization of magnetron sputtering TiB2and Ti-B-N thin films①
(1. State Key Laboratory of Dies Technology,
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P.R.China;
2. BIRL Industrial Research Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA;
3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and
Application Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA)
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P.R.China;
2. BIRL Industrial Research Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA;
3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and
Application Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA)
Abstract: TiB2and Ti-B-N films on various substrates were synthesized using ionized dc-magnetron sputtering. A twoturn coil powered by 13.56MHz r.f. was used to enhance the ionization fraction of the plasma. The structure and properties of the films are affected by several parameters such as substrate bias, total pressure and nitrogen partial pressure and by the substrate materials. The crystallinity and the hardness of the films increase with decreasing total pressure. Well crystallized TiB2films with strong (0001) texture and with hardness up to 50 GPa were produced. Nitrogen doping into TiB2films decreases their crystallinity and hardness. About 1 GPa residual compressive stress was determined by a wafer curvature technique. It was performed that the dry friction of several different hard films against hardened 52100 steel, which showed the TiB2and Ti-B-N films existing the lowest friction coefficient and the lowest wear rate.
Key words: TiB2and Ti-B-N coating; dc-magnetron sputtering; residual stress; mechanical properties; tribology