Tribological properties characterization of Ti/Cu/N Thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering on titanium alloy

• We have prepared 3 Ti/Cu/N thin films with different Cu contents.
• We analyzed the structure of the thin films.
• The increase of copper content significantly affects the surface structure of the films.
• The wear resistance and friction coefficient of the films were analyzed and discussed.

The paper studies tribological properties of some new Ti/Cu/N films. These Ti/Cu/N films prepared by three different diameter coppers were embedded in the titanium target, and then were deposited on Ti alloy surface by DC magnetron sputtering. After that, the microstructure, thickness, adhesion and friction/wear properties of the film are characterized and analyzed. The results show that the composite film mainly made up of Ti/Cu and Ti/Cu/N have well adhesion and wear properties. Especially, the film prepared by a diameter of 3 mm thin-film copper inlaid titanium target sputter deposition have good performance on friction and wear.