The microstructure and mechanical properties of nitrogen and boron contained ZrCuAlNi thin film metallic glass composites

In this work, nitrogen contained and B doped ZrCuAlNi thin film metallic glass composites (TFMGCs) were grown by magnetron co-sputtering process. Boron element was doped to evaluate its influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of nitrogen contained TFMGCs. The supercooled liquid region of TFMG was determined by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The microstructure was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The phase structure was confirmed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanical properties were measured by nanoindentation. The scratch tester and tests were employed to evaluate the adhesion and tribological properties. The surface roughness was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was concluded that the surface roughness, microstructure, glass-forming ability and mechanical behaviors of TFMGCs were strongly influenced by the nitrogen and boron doping. The ZrN nanocrystallites were embedded in the amorphous matrix. The hardness, H/E ratio, and indentation toughness increased with increasing boron concentration. Excellent adhesion quality was also confirmed for all coatings. The Zr-based thin film metallic glass composite containing 6.4 B-32.6 N (in at.%) with optima hardness, 16.2 GPa, adequate indentation toughness and excellent adhesion quality was achieved in this work.