Effect of Ti/Si and Ti/TiN/Si interlayers on the structure, properties, and tribological behavior of an a-C film deposited onto a C17200 copper-beryllium alloy

Reduced hardness and wear resistance may limit SAE C17200 copper-beryllium alloy use in manufacturing applications, such as plunger tips of die casting machines and as cores and inserts for steel dies in injection molding processes. In order to improve the surface properties of Cu-Be alloys, amorphous carbon (a-C) films have been selected since these coatings may show high hardness, low wear rate and low coefficient of friction. However, the adhesion of carbonaceous films on Cu-Be alloys remains a challenge. Two interlayer compositions (Ti/Si and Ti/TiN/Si) were deposited onto Cu-Be disks and silicon wafers to assess amorphous carbon adhesion on substrates made of Cu-Be alloy. The microstructure and topography of the coatings were examined by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) coupled with X-ray dispersive energy spectroscopy (EDS). The chemical composition depth profile was measured by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES), which confirmed distinct coating layers of Ti, Si, a-C (C1 and C2 conditions-pDCMS). A TiN extra layer presence was obtained for the C3 and C4 conditions-pDCMS reactive, confirmed by small angle XRD analysis. Raman scattering spectroscopy showed a higher quantity of sp3 carbon bonds for C3 and C4 coating conditions compared to C1 and C2. Instrumented indentation tests indicated a higher hardness and reduced elastic modulus for C3 and C4 coating systems, corroborating Raman results, in terms of a higher concentration of sp3 bonds. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and coherence correlation interferometry (CCI) were used to characterize the coatings' surface features and scratch tracks after the tests. In addition, ramp load scratch tests were conducted to assess coating adhesion to the Cu-Be alloy substrate by measuring critical loads and the coefficient of friction. The highest critical loads to failure (Lc2) and (Lc3) were found for the Ti/ TiN/Si interlayer sample (C4 condition), indicating that this interlayer improved the coating contribution to a gradual increase in the hardness and promotion of an enhanced adhesion strength of the a-C coating.