Effect of layer thickness on thermal properties of multilayer thin films produced by PVD

Cr/CrN/CrAlN, CrN/CrAlN and Cr/CrN thin layers were deposited by PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition). The multilayers were obtained from the combined deposition of different layers Cr, CrN and CrAlN thick films on on AISI4140 steel and silicon substrates at 200°C, and evaluated with respect to fundamental properties such as structure and thermal properties. Cr, CrN and CrAlN single layers were also prepared for comparison purposes. The structural and morphological properties of PVD layers were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with EDS+WDS microanalyses, stresses were determined by the Newton’s rings methods using the Stoney’s equation and surface hardening and hardness profiles were evaluated by micro hardness measurements. The XRD data and HRTEM showed that both the Cr/CrN, CrN/CrAlN and Cr/CrN/CrAlN multilayer coatings exhibited B1NaCl structure with a prominent reflection along (200) plane, and CrAlN sub-layer microstructures composed of nanocrystallites uniformly embedded in an amorphous matrix. The innovation of this work was to use the thickness of three different coating types to determine the thermal properties. Furthermore, an empirical equation was developed for the thermal properties variations with temperature of AISI4140 steel coated with different multilayer coatings. The thermal conductivity of CrAlN single layered was lower than the multilayer and the bulk material AISI4140. Moreover, the influences of structure and composition of the multilayer coatings on the thermal properties are discussed. The thermal conductivity of nanoscale thin film is remarkably lower than that of bulk materials because of its various size effects. ► We study two coatings which have regulated thermal properties and on wear quality. ► We examine microstructure changes and relation with thermal properties evolution. ► Increasing the number of layer will decrease thermal conductivity level. ► Increasing residual stress will increase the level of wear.