Effect of depositing process on microstructure chromium nitride coatings deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

A series of chromium-nitride coatings deposited on T10 substrates were prepared by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering with variable processing conditions, the phase and composition variation with different depositing processes were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, and surface structure of Cr-N coatings was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that complicated Cr2O3 and Cr(O, N)x occur on surface of Cr-N coatings after these samples are deposited, under normal temperature conditions the phase changes from Cr to stoichiometry CrN with reactive gas N2 increasing. Phase composition of chromium-nitride coatings is mainly β-Cr2N + CrN when N2 content is 33.3%. Substrate bias voltage has significant effect on the phase state and the lattice orientation of the coating. As the bias voltage increases to -130 V, the diffraction summit of β-Cr2N phase gradually transfers into preferential orientations of (110) and (300).