Elastic stresses and microstructure of TiAlN coatings

Abstract

By X-ray diffraction and transmission diffraction electron microscopy methods, the phase composition, macro- and microstresses, and microstructure in a Ti_1–xAl_xN coating and a substrate were investigated. The coatings were deposited by magnetron sputtering of a Ti–Al target in an Ar + N gas reaction mixture on a substrate of austenitic steel 12Kh18N10T preliminarily bombarded with a titanium ion beam. It was found that the increase in the duration of the preliminary ion treatment of the substrate leads to increasing compression macrostresses and refining of a nanocrystalline columnar microstructure in the Ti_1–xAl_xN coating.