TY - JOUR
T1 - Transmission electron microscopy microstructural characterization of Ti–Si–C–N coatings
AU - Guo, Y
AU - Ma, S
AU - Xu, K
AU - Bell, Thomas
AU - Li, Xiao-Ying
AU - Dong, Hanshan
PY - 2008/1/1
Y1 - 2008/1/1
N2 - A new type of Ti-Si-C-N coatings deposited on high-speed steel substrate by means of pulsed direct current (dc) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition was investigated. The as-deposited coatings were characterized systematically by using energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and microhardness with particular attention paid to the microstructure of the coatings. It has been shown that C content has a profound effect on the microstructure and hardness of coatings. TEM and XRD analyses revealed that these coatings consist of the dominate Ti(C, N) with a silicide (TiSi2, Si3N4, or SiC, depending on the C content in the coatings). The crystallite sizes are in the range of 8-35 nm, which decrease with increasing C content. The Ti-Si-C-N coatings with high C content (25.2-38.6 at.%) possess superhardness (41-48 GPa). This can be attributed to the grain refinement/grain boundary hardening and dispersion hardening of the hard, nanosized crystalline Si3N4 or SiC formed in the deposition.
AB - A new type of Ti-Si-C-N coatings deposited on high-speed steel substrate by means of pulsed direct current (dc) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition was investigated. The as-deposited coatings were characterized systematically by using energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and microhardness with particular attention paid to the microstructure of the coatings. It has been shown that C content has a profound effect on the microstructure and hardness of coatings. TEM and XRD analyses revealed that these coatings consist of the dominate Ti(C, N) with a silicide (TiSi2, Si3N4, or SiC, depending on the C content in the coatings). The crystallite sizes are in the range of 8-35 nm, which decrease with increasing C content. The Ti-Si-C-N coatings with high C content (25.2-38.6 at.%) possess superhardness (41-48 GPa). This can be attributed to the grain refinement/grain boundary hardening and dispersion hardening of the hard, nanosized crystalline Si3N4 or SiC formed in the deposition.
U2 - 10.1557/jmr.2008.0019
DO - 10.1557/jmr.2008.0019
M3 - Article
SN - 2044-5326
VL - 23
SP - 198
EP - 203
JO - Journal of Materials Research
JF - Journal of Materials Research
IS - 1
ER -