Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS
AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films were deposited by physical vapor deposition using dcMS, HiPIMS and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS processes. Although all the thin films were produced using the same time-average power and show only slight differences in the chemical composition, significant differences regarding th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Hybrid Advances |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773207X23001033 |
| _version_ | 1797205948830318592 |
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| author | Wolfgang Tillmann Finn Ontrup Eric Schneider Michael Paulus Christian Sternemann Nelson Filipe Lopes Dias |
| author_facet | Wolfgang Tillmann Finn Ontrup Eric Schneider Michael Paulus Christian Sternemann Nelson Filipe Lopes Dias |
| author_sort | Wolfgang Tillmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films were deposited by physical vapor deposition using dcMS, HiPIMS and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS processes. Although all the thin films were produced using the same time-average power and show only slight differences in the chemical composition, significant differences regarding their structure, morphology, and mechanical properties were identified. Both dcMS-AlCrN and dcMS-AlCrVYN thin films show a column-like structure of sharply defined grains with large crystallites having size of 168 nm and 133 nm and exhibit a low hardness of (6.7 ± 1.3) GPa and (8.9 ± 1.0) GPa, respectively. In contrast, HiPIMS thin films, despite their lower deposition rate (especially evident in HiPIMS-AlCrVYN, which exhibited the lowest deposition rate among all examined films), show a denser structure predominantly composed of fcc-CrN and, in the case of HiPIMS- and dcMS/HiPIMS-AlCrN, small amounts of hcp-AlN. Consequently, the HiPIMS-AlCrN and HiPIMS-AlCrVYN thin films showed higher hardness values of 28.0 ± 2.1 GPa and 30.7 ± 1.9 GPa, respectively. Combining the two methods by using one cathode in dcMS mode and one in HiPIMS mode results in films with similar hardness values (26.9 ± 1.6 GPa for AlCrN and 28.7 ± 2.2 GPa for AlCrVYN) and morphologies comparable to the pure HiPIMS thin films, but with an increase in the deposition rate. This demonstrates the advantage of combining the two methods, especially for the AlCrVYN thin film production. In comparison to AlCrN, the AlCrVYN thin films generally exhibit higher hardness demonstrating the advantage of adding larger atoms into the thin film structure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:12:18Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2773-207X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T08:59:14Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hybrid Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-011e16780bb0493f82fc59ac24d618612024-04-16T04:09:59ZengElsevierHybrid Advances2773-207X2024-04-015100120Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMSWolfgang Tillmann0Finn Ontrup1Eric Schneider2Michael Paulus3Christian Sternemann4Nelson Filipe Lopes Dias5Institute of Materials Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Leonhard-Euler-Straße 2, 44227, Dortmund, GermanyInstitute of Materials Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Leonhard-Euler-Straße 2, 44227, Dortmund, Germany; Corresponding author.Fakultät Physik/DELTA, TU Dortmund University, 44221, Dortmund, GermanyFakultät Physik/DELTA, TU Dortmund University, 44221, Dortmund, GermanyFakultät Physik/DELTA, TU Dortmund University, 44221, Dortmund, GermanyInstitute of Materials Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Leonhard-Euler-Straße 2, 44227, Dortmund, GermanyAlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films were deposited by physical vapor deposition using dcMS, HiPIMS and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS processes. Although all the thin films were produced using the same time-average power and show only slight differences in the chemical composition, significant differences regarding their structure, morphology, and mechanical properties were identified. Both dcMS-AlCrN and dcMS-AlCrVYN thin films show a column-like structure of sharply defined grains with large crystallites having size of 168 nm and 133 nm and exhibit a low hardness of (6.7 ± 1.3) GPa and (8.9 ± 1.0) GPa, respectively. In contrast, HiPIMS thin films, despite their lower deposition rate (especially evident in HiPIMS-AlCrVYN, which exhibited the lowest deposition rate among all examined films), show a denser structure predominantly composed of fcc-CrN and, in the case of HiPIMS- and dcMS/HiPIMS-AlCrN, small amounts of hcp-AlN. Consequently, the HiPIMS-AlCrN and HiPIMS-AlCrVYN thin films showed higher hardness values of 28.0 ± 2.1 GPa and 30.7 ± 1.9 GPa, respectively. Combining the two methods by using one cathode in dcMS mode and one in HiPIMS mode results in films with similar hardness values (26.9 ± 1.6 GPa for AlCrN and 28.7 ± 2.2 GPa for AlCrVYN) and morphologies comparable to the pure HiPIMS thin films, but with an increase in the deposition rate. This demonstrates the advantage of combining the two methods, especially for the AlCrVYN thin film production. In comparison to AlCrN, the AlCrVYN thin films generally exhibit higher hardness demonstrating the advantage of adding larger atoms into the thin film structure.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773207X23001033AlCrNAlCrVYNDirect current magnetron sputteringHigh power impulse magnetron sputteringHybrid PVD processMechanical properties |
| spellingShingle | Wolfgang Tillmann Finn Ontrup Eric Schneider Michael Paulus Christian Sternemann Nelson Filipe Lopes Dias Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS Hybrid Advances AlCrN AlCrVYN Direct current magnetron sputtering High power impulse magnetron sputtering Hybrid PVD process Mechanical properties |
| title | Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS |
| title_full | Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS |
| title_fullStr | Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS |
| title_short | Comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of AlCrN and AlCrVYN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS |
| title_sort | comparative investigation of the structure and mechanical properties of alcrn and alcrvyn thin films deposited by dcms hipims and hybrid dcms hipims |
| topic | AlCrN AlCrVYN Direct current magnetron sputtering High power impulse magnetron sputtering Hybrid PVD process Mechanical properties |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773207X23001033 |
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