Variation on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ti-Al-N Films Induced by RF-ICP Ion Source Enhanced Reactive Nitrogen Plasma Atmosphere

Dongke Li; Lixia Xia; Lian Yan; Yunqing Cao; Zhangyin Zhai; Guibin Chen

doi:10.1186/s11671-020-03354-5

Variation on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ti-Al-N Films Induced by RF-ICP Ion Source Enhanced Reactive Nitrogen Plasma Atmosphere

Nanoscale Res Lett. 2020 May 24;15(1):119. doi: 10.1186/s11671-020-03354-5.

Authors

Dongke Li^{1

2}, Lixia Xia³, Lian Yan⁴, Yunqing Cao^{5

6}, Zhangyin Zhai³, Guibin Chen³

Affiliations

¹ Physics Department, Huaiyin Normal University, Huai'an, 223300, China. ldkest@nju.edu.cn.
² School of Electronic Science and Engineering, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210000, China. ldkest@nju.edu.cn.
³ Physics Department, Huaiyin Normal University, Huai'an, 223300, China.
⁴ Huaiyin Normal University, Huai'an, 223300, China.
⁵ School of Electronic Science and Engineering, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210000, China.
⁶ School of Physical Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225000, China.

Abstract

Acquiring the optimum growth conditions of Ti-Al-N films, the effects of gas atmosphere, especially the reactive plasma on the material microstructures, and mechanical properties are still a fundamental and important issue. In this study, Ti-Al-N films are reactively deposited by radio frequency inductively coupled plasma ion source (RF-ICPIS) enhanced sputtering system. Different nitrogen gas flow rates in letting into the ion source are adopted to obtain nitrogen plasma densities and alter deposition atmosphere. It is found the nitrogen element contents in the films are quite influenced by the nitrogen plasma density, and the maximum value can reach as high as 67.8% at high gas flow circumstance. XRD spectra and FESEM images indicate that low plasma density is benefit for the film crystallization and dense microstructure. Moreover, the mechanical properties like hardness and tribological performance are mutually enhanced by adjusting the nitrogen atmosphere.

Keywords: Nitrogen plasma density; RF-ICPIS; Ti-Al-N; microstructure.

Abstract

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