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Ti–Si–C–N thin films grown by reactive arc evaporation from Ti3SiC2 cathodes

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Abstract

Ti–Si–C–N thin films were deposited onto WC-Co substrates by industrial scale arc evaporation from Ti3SiC2 compound cathodes in N2 gas. Microstructure and hardness were found to be highly dependent on the wide range of film compositions attained, comprising up to 12 at.% Si and 16 at.% C. Nonreactive deposition yielded films consisting of understoichiometric TiCx, Ti, and silicide phases with high (27 GPa) hardness. At a nitrogen pressure of 0.25–0.5 Pa, below that required for N saturation, superhard, 45–50 GPa, (Ti,Si)(C,N) films with a nanocrystalline feathered structure were formed. Films grown above 2 Pa displayed crystalline phases of more pronounced nitride character, but with C and Si segregated to grain boundaries to form weak grain boundary phases. In abundance of N, the combined presence of Si and C disturbs cubic phase growth severely and compromises the mechanical strength of the films.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the VINN Excellence center on Functional Nanoscale Materials (FunMat). The authors also acknowledge Uppsala University for access to the Tandem Laboratory for ERDA analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Anders O. Eriksson & Mats P. Johansson

  2. Nanostructured Materials, Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Jianqiang Zhu, Naureen Ghafoor, Grzegorz Greczynski, Mats P. Johansson, Jacob Sjölen & Magnus Odén

  3. Seco Tools AB, SE-737 82, Fagersta, Sweden

    Jens Jensen, Lars Hultman & Johanna Rosén

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  1. Anders O. Eriksson
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  2. Jianqiang Zhu
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  3. Naureen Ghafoor
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Correspondence to Anders O. Eriksson.

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Eriksson, A.O., Zhu, J., Ghafoor, N. et al. Ti–Si–C–N thin films grown by reactive arc evaporation from Ti3SiC2 cathodes. Journal of Materials Research 26, 874–881 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.10

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