PROPERTIES OF (Ti, Al)N FILM PREPARED BY PVD CATHODIC ARC
Keywords:
TiAlN film, PVD, phase structure, mechanical propertiesAbstract
(Ti, Al)N film is a type of metal alloy film which can be prepared by cathodic arc physical vapor deposition using a compound target or 2 single-metal targets. It is a hard thin film whichsignificantly increases tool lifetime. In this work, 2 types of Ti-Al compound targets (low and highsintering temperature targets) were used. Cold tool steel (SKD11) was used as a substrate for the film coating. The deposition bias voltage, bias arc current, and deposition time were set at 100V, 70A, and 90 min, respectively. The N2 gas pressure was varied from 1, 1.5, and 2 Pa. After coating, the film was characterized for phase structure, thickness, adhesion, and hardness. It was found that all the coated films showed the same phase structure of Ti0.5Al0.5N and TiN0.5. However, the films deposited from a high temperature target perform with higher adhesion strength than that of the films deposited from a low temperature target.
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