Effect of bias voltage on the microstructure and hardness of Ti-Si-N films deposited by using high-power impulse magnetron sputtering

The huge potential of High-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) to improve the properties of deposited coatings has been verified. In this study, Ti-Si-N coatings were deposited on Si (111), glass and cemented carbide substrates by using HIPIMS. The influences of the peak voltage, duty cycle and total gas pressure on the transient peak current of the Ti90Si10 target was investigated in detailed. The (200) diffraction intensity decreased with increasing bias voltage from -50 V to -400 V. The hardness of the Ti-Si-N coatings deposited at various bias voltages and the internal stress at different bias voltages were studied. The results indicate that HIPIMS technology can considerably improve the mechanical capacity of the Ti-Si-N coatings, possibly due to the combined protection of the increased adhesive force with the substrate and the relatively high hardness, which are caused by densification and dislocation strengthening effects.