INFLUENCE OF THE CONDITIONS OF REACTIVE ANODIC EVAPORATION OF TITANIUM IN HEXAMETHYLDISILAZANE VAPORS ON THE FORMATION RATE AND HARDNESS OF TISICN COATINGS

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study of the influence of the synthesis conditions of nanocompositeTiSiCN coatings by the method of reactive anodic evaporation of titanium in a vapor-gas mediumcontaining hexamethyldisilazane vapors on the rate of their formation and microhardness. Theinvestigated method of obtaining coatings, where titanium evaporation and plasmochemicaldecomposition of organosilicon precursor molecules in a reactive gas medium is carried out in a singledischarge cell based on a self-heating hollow cathode, is promising because it provides generation ofa metal vapor stream without microdrops, an independent change within a wide range of synthesisconditions such as the composition and pressure of a vapor-gas mixture, metal vapor flow and theprecursor flow and the degree of their activation, the density and energy of the ion flux to the surfaceof the forming coating. It is shown that this method provides high (up to 10 microns/h) synthesis ratesof nanocomposite TiSiCN coatings with hardness up to 38–40 GPa. An increase in the flow of metalvapors, precursor vapors and discharge current leads to a monotonous increase in the rate of coatingformation. At the same time, the microhardness of the coatings decreases with an increase in thedischarge current from 10 to 50 A and nonmonotonically depends on the hexamethyldisilazane vaporflow in the range of 0–1,5 g/h, which is associated with a change in the chemical composition and thecontent of the nanocrystalline phase in the coatings.