Structure and Mechanical Properties of Ti-Al-Ta-N Coatings Deposited by Direct Current and Middle-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Ti-Al-Ta-N coatings are characterized by attractive mechanical properties, thermal stability and oxidation resistance, which are superior to ternary compositions, such as Ti-Al-N. However, because of their open columnar microstructure, the Ti-Al-Ta-N coatings deposited by conventional direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) exhibit insufficient wear resistance. This work is focused on obtaining the Ti-Al-Ta-N coatings with improved microstructure and mechanical and tribological properties by middle-frequency magnetron sputtering (MFMS). The coatings are deposited by the co-sputtering of two separate targets (Ti-Al and Ta) using pure DCMS and MFMS modes as well as hybrid modes. It is found that the MFMS coating has a denser microstructure consisting of fragmented columnar grains interspersed with equiaxed grains and a smaller grain size than the DCMS coating, which is characterized by a fully columnar microstructure. The modification of the microstructure of the MFMS coating results in the simultaneous enhancement of its hardness, toughness and adhesion. As a result, the wear rate of the MFMS coating is less than half of that of the DCMS coating.