In this article, the depositions and functional characterizations of Ta-N and Ta-Al-N coatings for protection purposes, grown by reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering onto silicon substrates, are described. Nitride films were grown while changing the substrate polarization voltage (i.e., the applied bias voltage) during the process. Moreover, the effects of adding Al to form a ternary system and the resulting variation of the coatings' mechanical and tribological properties have been widely investigated by nanoindentation, scratch, and wear tests. Micro-Raman characterization has been applied to the wear tracks to explore the comprehensive tribo-environment and wear mechanism. Interestingly, Ta-Al-N films, despite significantly improved mechanical properties, show a premature failure with respect to Ta-N coatings. The wear mechanisms of Ta-N and Ta-Al-N systems were revealed to be very different. Indeed, Ta-Al-N films suffer higher oxidation phenomena during wear, with the formation of an oxidized surface tribofilm and a reduced wear resistance, while Ta-N coatings undergo plastic deformation at the wear surface, with a slightly adhesive effect.
Keywords: high-power impulse magnetron sputtering; mechanical properties of films; tantalum aluminum nitride; tantalum nitride; tribological properties; wear resistance.