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Coatings
Special Issues
Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings
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Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 October 2018) | Viewed by 33842

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Grégory Abadias

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Guest Editor
Département Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux, Institut Pprime, CNRS - Université de Poitiers, 86962 Chasseneuil-Futuroscope, France
Interests: thin film growth; magnetron sputtering; nanostructured thin films; multilayers; nitride hard coatings; stress and mechanical properties; multiscale modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue on “Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings” is to present the latest experimental and theoretical developments in the growth design and tailoring of hard coatings’ nano- and microstructures to enhance their mechanical and functional properties. Hard coatings based on nitrides, oxides, oxynitrides, borides, and carbides are now routinely synthesized by vapor depostion techniques to improve the performance of tools, machine parts, or devices in terms of mechanical strength, wear, and resistance to harsh environnement (oxidation, corrosive media, high temperature and pressure, ion irradiation). Efficient strategies, including new processing routes and new design concepts (e.g., interface engineering, multicomponent alloying), based on a chemical/structural tailoring of the coatings, must be devised to go beyond convential hard coatings. Synthesis methods will cover physical and chemical vapor deposition, including advanced or emerging techniques, such as high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), ion-assisted deposition, glancing angle deposition, or atmospheric plasma.

This Special Issue will encompass original research papers and review articles from leading groups around the world. In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Combinatorial approach in thin film deposition
  • Theory-guided design of hard coatings: quantum-mechanical calculations, multi-scale modeling, etc.
  • Multicomponent alloying and phase tuning
  • Interface design: multilayers and superlattices, nanocomposites
  • Functionally-graded hard coatings
  • Real-time and in situ growth monitoring
  • Coatings with improved hardness and toughness, thermal stability and oxidation resistance, radiation tolerance, etc.

Looking forward to receiving your original scientific contributions (full paper, communication or review article) to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Grégory Abadias
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 8883 KiB  
Article
Stress-Dependent Elasticity of TiAlN Coatings
by Marcus Hans, Lena Patterer, Denis Music, Damian M. Holzapfel, Simon Evertz, Volker Schnabel, Bastian Stelzer, Daniel Primetzhofer, Bernhard Völker, Beno Widrig, Anders O. Eriksson, Jürgen Ramm, Mirjam Arndt, Helmut Rudigier and Jochen M. Schneider
Coatings 2019, 9(1), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9010024 - 2 Jan 2019
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6002
Abstract
We investigate the effect of continuous vs. periodically interrupted plasma exposure during cathodic arc evaporation on the elastic modulus as well as the residual stress state of metastable cubic TiAlN coatings. Nanoindentation reveals that the elastic modulus of TiAlN grown at floating potential [...] Read more.
We investigate the effect of continuous vs. periodically interrupted plasma exposure during cathodic arc evaporation on the elastic modulus as well as the residual stress state of metastable cubic TiAlN coatings. Nanoindentation reveals that the elastic modulus of TiAlN grown at floating potential with continuous plasma exposure is 7%–11% larger than for coatings grown with periodically interrupted plasma exposure due to substrate rotation. In combination with X-ray stress analysis, it is evident that the elastic modulus is governed by the residual stress state. The experimental dependence of the elastic modulus on the stress state is in excellent agreement with ab initio predictions. The macroparticle surface coverage exhibits a strong angular dependence as both density and size of incorporated macroparticles are significantly lower during continuous plasma exposure. Scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy reveals the formation of underdense boundary regions between the matrix and TiN-rich macroparticles. The estimated porosity is on the order of 1% and a porosity-induced elastic modulus reduction of 5%–9% may be expected based on effective medium theory. It appears reasonable to assume that these underdense boundary regions enable stress relaxation causing the experimentally determined reduction in elastic modulus as the population of macroparticles is increased. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings)
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12 pages, 1939 KiB  
Article
Control over the Phase Formation in Metastable Transition Metal Nitride Thin Films by Tuning the Al+ Subplantation Depth
by Grzegorz Greczynski, Stanislav Mráz, Marcus Hans, Jun Lu, Lars Hultman and Jochen M. Schneider
Coatings 2019, 9(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9010017 - 28 Dec 2018
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3744
Abstract
The performance of transition metal nitride based coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering, in a broad range of applications including wear-protective coatings on cutting tools and components in automotive engines, is determined by their phase content. The classical example is the precipitation of thermodynamically-favored [...] Read more.
The performance of transition metal nitride based coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering, in a broad range of applications including wear-protective coatings on cutting tools and components in automotive engines, is determined by their phase content. The classical example is the precipitation of thermodynamically-favored wurtzite-AlN while alloying TiN with Al to obtain ternary single phase NaCl-structure films with improved high-temperature oxidation resistance. Here, we report on reactive high-power impulse and direct current magnetron co-sputtering (HiPIMS/DCMS) growth of Ti0.31Al0.69N and Zr0.48Al0.52N thin films. The Al concentrations are intentionally chosen to be higher than theoretically predicted solubility limits for the rock salt structure. The goal is to investigate the effect of the incident Al+ energy EAl+, controlled by varying the amplitude of the substrate bias applied synchronously with the Al+-rich portion of the ion flux from the Al-HiPIMS source, on the crystalline phase formation. For EAl+ ≤ 60 eV, films contain predominantly the wurtzite phase. With increasing EAl+, and thus, the Al subplantation depth, the relative fraction of the NaCl structure increases and eventually for EAl+ > 250 eV, Ti0.31Al0.69N and Zr0.48Al0.52N layers contain more than 95% of the rock salt phase. Thus, the separation of the film forming species in time and energy domains determines the phase formation of Ti0.31Al0.69N and Zr0.48Al0.52N layers and enables the growth of the cubic phase outside of the predicted Al concentration range. The new film growth concept can be applied to the entire family of multinary transition metal aluminum nitrides, where one of the metallic film constituents is available in the ionized form while the other arrives as neutral. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings)
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9 pages, 2051 KiB  
Article
Growth of NbC Thin Film Using CH4 as a Carbon Source and Reducing Agent
by Kwan-Woo Kim, Bum Jun Kim, Sang Hoon Lee, Tuqeer Nasir, Hyung Kyu Lim, Ik Jun Choi, Byung Joo Jeong, Jaeyeong Lee, Hak Ki Yu and Jae-Young Choi
Coatings 2018, 8(11), 379; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings8110379 - 24 Oct 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3579
Abstract
Transition metal carbides (TMCs) have high melting points, hardness, and chemical stabilities in acidic media. In this work, a chemical vapor deposition method using CH4 as a carbon source and reducing agent was employed to make an NbC film. NbCl5 carried [...] Read more.
Transition metal carbides (TMCs) have high melting points, hardness, and chemical stabilities in acidic media. In this work, a chemical vapor deposition method using CH4 as a carbon source and reducing agent was employed to make an NbC film. NbCl5 carried by Ar gas was used as an Nb precursor. An NbC thin film, deposited on a c-plane sapphire, exhibited a preferential orientation of the (111) plane, which can be explained by domain-matching epitaxy. A nanoindentation test showed that the NbC film with the preferential orientation of the (111) plane was stronger than that with a random orientation. Moreover, the results showed that H2, which is conventionally used as a reducing agent in NbC synthesis, degraded the crystallinity and hardness of the fabricated NbC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings)
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21 pages, 7760 KiB  
Article
The Role of Thin-Film Vacuum-Plasma Coatings and Their Influence on the Efficiency of Ceramic Cutting Inserts
by Marina Volosova, Sergey Grigoriev, Alexander Metel and Alexander Shein
Coatings 2018, 8(8), 287; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings8080287 - 17 Aug 2018
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 4820
Abstract
The main problem with ceramics used in cutting tools is related to the unpredictable failures caused by the brittle fracturing of ceramic inserts, which is critical for the intermittent milling of cyclic loading. A 125-mm-diameter eight-toothed end mill, with a mechanical fastening of [...] Read more.
The main problem with ceramics used in cutting tools is related to the unpredictable failures caused by the brittle fracturing of ceramic inserts, which is critical for the intermittent milling of cyclic loading. A 125-mm-diameter eight-toothed end mill, with a mechanical fastening of ceramic inserts, was used as a cutting tool for milling hardened steel (102Cr6). For the experiments, square inserts of the Al2O3 + SiC ceramic were used and compared with the samples made of Al2O3 + TiC to confirm the obtained results. The samples were coated with diamond-like coating (DLC), TiZrN, and TiCrAlN coatings, and their bending strength and adhesion were investigated. Investigations into the friction coefficient of the samples and operational tests were also carried out. The effect of smoothing the microroughness and surface defects in comparison with uncoated inserts, which are characteristic of the abrasive processing of ceramics, was investigated and analyzed. The process developed by the authors of the coating process allows for the cleaning and activation of the surface of ceramic inserts using high-energy gas atoms. The impact of these particles on the cutting edge of the insert ensures its sharpening and reduces the radius of curvature of its cutting edges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings)
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11 pages, 5681 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Properties of Zr–Si–N Films Fabricated through HiPIMS/RFMS Co-Sputtering
by Li-Chun Chang, Yu-Zhe Zheng and Yung-I Chen
Coatings 2018, 8(8), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings8080263 - 27 Jul 2018
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6022
Abstract
Zr–Si–N films were fabricated through the co-deposition of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) and radio-frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS). The mechanical properties of the films fabricated using various nitrogen flow rates and radio-frequency powers were investigated. The HiPIMS/RFMS co-sputtered Zr–Si–N films were under-stoichiometric. These [...] Read more.
Zr–Si–N films were fabricated through the co-deposition of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) and radio-frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS). The mechanical properties of the films fabricated using various nitrogen flow rates and radio-frequency powers were investigated. The HiPIMS/RFMS co-sputtered Zr–Si–N films were under-stoichiometric. These films with Si content of less than 9 at.%, and N content of less than 43 at.% displayed a face-centered cubic structure. The films’ hardness and Young’s modulus exhibited an evident relationship to their compressive residual stresses. The films with 2–6 at.% Si exhibited high hardness of 33–34 GPa and high Young’s moduli of 346–373 GPa, which was accompanied with compressive residual stresses from −4.4 to −5.0 GPa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings)
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8322 KiB  
Article
Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TaN Thin Films Prepared by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering
by Anna Zaman and Efstathios I. Meletis
Coatings 2017, 7(12), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings7120209 - 23 Nov 2017
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 8944
Abstract
Reactive magnetron sputtering was used to deposit tantalum nitride (Ta–N) thin films on Si substrate. The effect of varying the N2 percentage in the N2/Ar gas mixture on the Ta–N film characteristics was investigated. Mechanical and tribological properties were studied [...] Read more.
Reactive magnetron sputtering was used to deposit tantalum nitride (Ta–N) thin films on Si substrate. The effect of varying the N2 percentage in the N2/Ar gas mixture on the Ta–N film characteristics was investigated. Mechanical and tribological properties were studied using nanoindentation and pin-on-disc wear testing. Decreasing the N2 content in the gas mixture was found to change the film structure from face centered cubic (fcc) TaN (from 25% to 10% N2) to highly textured fcc TaN (at 7% N2) to a mixture of fcc TaN1.13 and hexagonal Ta2N (at 5% N2), and finally to hexagonal Ta2N (at 3% N2). A high hardness of about 33 GPa was shown by the films containing the hexagonal Ta2N phase (5% and 3% N2). Decreasing the N2 content below 7% N2 was also found to result in microstructural refinement with grain size 5–15 nm. Besides the highest hardness, the film deposited with 3% N2 content exhibited the highest hardness/modulus ratio (0.13), and elastic recovery (68%), and very low wear rate (3.1 × 10−6 mm3·N−1·m−1). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Synthesis of Hard Coatings)
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