Impact of Deposition Power and Gas Flow Ratio on the Tribological Properties of Titanium Vanadium Nitride Thin Films

Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Sep 19;14(9):1788. doi: 10.3390/mi14091788.

Abstract

Magnetron sputtering was used for producing titanium vanadium nitride (TiVN) coatings on brass substrates. In this research, we investigate how changing the sputtering power and nitrogen:argon (N2:Ar) gas ratio affects the structural and tribological properties of TiVN coatings. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to examine TiVN coating surface morphology. Both variants showed a gradual increase in the intensity of the TiVN coatings' (111) and (222) peaks. The TiVN coatings' tribological properties were examined using a pin-on-disc tribometer with varying loads, speeds, and sliding distances. The wear rates of TiVN-coated brass pins were in the range of 2.5 × 10-4 to 9.14 × 10-4 mm3/Nm depending on load, sliding distance, and gas ratio variation, when compared to the wear rates of TiVN-coated brass pins deposited at various powers, which ranged from 1.76 × 10-3 to 5.87 × 10-3 mm3/Nm.

Keywords: friction; sputtering; titanium vanadium nitride; tribology; wear.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.