Structure and Phase Composition of Magnetronsputter-Deposited Corrosion Resistant Al–Si–N/Ni/Al–Si–N Coatings

The paper studies the magnetron sputter-deposited multilayer, multicomponent Al–Si–N/Ni/Al–Si–N coating possessing higher corrosion resistance. Studied are the phase and elemental composition of the coating and its structural layers. It is found that all coating layers have a columnar structure. The structure of the Al–Si–N coating is nanocrystalline, while the structure of the nickel layer is finely crystalline. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that AlN and Si 3 N 4 phases with the hexagonal closed packed crystal structure are present in the Al–Si–N layer, which is confirmed by the XRD patterns obtained on a transmission electron microscope. According to corrosion tests, the corrosion resistance of specimens coated by the Al–Si–N/Ni/Al–Si–N coating, is higher than that of uncoated specimens.