Effects of Axial Magnetic Field on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TiN Films Deposited by Arc Ion Plating

In order to investigate the effects of an axial magnetic field on film structure and properties,TiN films were deposited on high-speed-steel(HSS)substrates by arc ion plating.The effects of the intensity of magnetic field on the chemical composition,microstructure,hardness and elastic modulus was investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),surface profiler and nanoindentor,respectively.The results show that:the axial magnetic field significantly affects the chemical composition,microstructure and mechanical properties of deposited TiN films.The higher the intensity of the magnetic field is,the bigger are the size of macroparticles,sputtering holes and surface roughness.The content of N in the TiN films increasing with the intensity of magnetic field and the content of Ti shows a reverse trend.The intensity of magnetic field puts much effects on the preferred orientation of the TiN films.With the increase of the intensity of magnetic field,the highly preferred orientation(111)is enhanced and then changes into preferred orientation(220).The hardness and elastic modulus of the films first increase and then decrease with the increase of the intensity of magnetic field.The maximum hardness is 28.4GPa and the elastic modulus is 415.4GPa,which obtained at the intensity of magnetic field is 50 Gs.