Abstract
TiN nanolayers with different thicknesses were inserted in TiSiN nanocomposite film by magnetron-sputtering technique. The influences of TiN insertion nanolayers with different thicknesses on microstructure and mechanical properties of TiSiN film were investigated X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and nanoindentation techniques. When the TiN insertion layer thickness is <0.5 nm, TiN nanolayers can coordinate the misorientations between TiN nanocrystallites in adjacent TiSiN layers, leading to the transformation from the nanocomposite structure with TiN nanocrystallites encapsulated by SiN x interfacial phase into columnar crystal structure, and disappearance of the strengthening effect from the nanocomposite structure. When the TiN insertion layer thickness increases to 1.0 nm, the film is strengthened with the epitaxial growth structures between TiSiN and TiN layers. As the TiN insertion layers further thicken, the hardness and elastic modulus evidently decrease, which can be attributed to the breakage of epitaxial growth structures between TiSiN and TiN layers.
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Acknowledgements
The present study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 51101101; the State Key Laboratory Program for Mechanical Behavior of Materials under Grant No. 20131305; the“Shanghai Municipal Natural Science Foundation” under Grant No. 11ZR1424600, sponsored by Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission; and the “Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission” under Grant No. 12YZ104.
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Li, W., Liu, P., Zhu, X. et al. Influence of TiN-nanolayered insertions on microstructure and mechanical properties of TiSiN nanocomposite film. J Mater Sci 49, 4127–4132 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8107-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8107-5