The effect of bilayer period and degree of unbalancing on magnetron sputtered Cr/CrN nano-multilayer wear and corrosion

Cr/CrN nano-multilayers were grown on H13 steel and silicon (100), having different periods (Λ), at room temperature using the unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique by varying the degree of unbalancing (KG) to investigate the effect on multilayer properties. The multilayers' total thickness was ~ 1 μm and the total number of layers varied from 10 (Λ = 200 nm), 20 (Λ = 100 nm) to 100 (Λ = 20 nm) layers. Film microstructure, hardness, wear and corrosion resistance were measured regarding bilayer period and degree of unbalancing. The results showed that wear resistance was lower for low KG values and that corrosion resistance was higher and hardness was improved. Nano-hardness was found to be higher for multilayers grown with Λ = 20 nm for all KG values, reaching a maximum 25 GPa value for KG = 0.87.