Bias voltage influence on the mechanical and tribological properties of titaniumaluminum nitride coatings produced by triode magnetron sputtering

Ti_xAl_1-xN coatings were grown using the triode magnetron sputtering technique with various bias voltages between -40 V and -150 V. As the bias voltage increased, an increase in the Al atomic percentage was observed, presenting a competition with Ti and producing structural changes. Moreover, the grain size and roughness were also strongly influenced by the bias voltage. It was observed that coatings with concentrations of approximately 25% Al and 75% Ti exhibited an optimum mixture of mechanical and tribological properties. The average coefÞcient of friction was low for the TiAlN coating that was grown at -40 V. Additionally, the critical load was obtained by measuring the adhesion using the scratch test.

Bias voltage; Coefficient of friction; Adhesion; Hardness