Effects of Substrate Temperature on Microstructure and Tribological Properties of Ti-Al-Si-Cu-N Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering

Ti-Al-Si-Cu-N films were deposited on the AISI-304 stainless steel by reactive magnetron sputtering technology. The influences of the substrate temperature (deposition temperature) on the microstructure and properties of the films were researched by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), a nano-indenter, a scratch tester and a ball-on-disc rotational tribometer. The results indicate that when the deposition temperature increases from room temperature to 250 °C, the films become smoother and denser. The hardness and elastic modulus increase with the increase of the deposition temperature. The scratch tests show that when the deposition temperature is RT, 150 and 250 °C, the critical load of the films is 3.85, 3.45 and 5.10 N, respectively. The friction coefficient and wear rate of the Ti-Al-Si-Cu-N film deposited at 250 °C are the smallest, and the wear debris is mainly from the counterparts GCr15 stainless steel balls, The wear mechanism of the films deposited at lower temperatures is mainly fatigue fracture and abrasive wear, while that of the film deposited at 250 °C is abrasive wear.