High vacuum arc ion plating Cr films: Self-ion bombarding effect and oxidation behavior

Abstract High vacuum arc ion plating gas-free Cr films under self-ion bombarding and their oxidation behaviours were investigated. Ultrafine column-grained Cr films were obtained, which showed stronger crystallographic orientation of (200) as the bombarding energy increased from 50 eV to 250 eV. Oxidation of the Cr films at 900 °C revealed that the thickness of the chromia scale decreased with enhanced bombarding energy. The thickness decreases over 56 % due to the elimination of gas inclusion but only around 18 % further by introducing orientation in the film, demonstrating the key role of high vacuum for depositing advanced Cr films.