Effect of N۲ partial pressure on the structural and mechanical properties of TaN films

TaN films with different N۲ partial pressure were deposited on ۳۰۴ stainless steel using the magnetron sputtering method. The effect of gas pressure on the mechanical property, morphology and phase structure of the films is investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), microhardness testing, friction coefficient measurements, and wear mechanism study. The XRD results confirmed that increasing N۲ partial pressure does not affect the formation of the new phases but intensity of peaks increased. AFM images showed that surface roughness and grain size increased with increasing of N۲ partial pressure. It was found that hardness decreased as N۲ partial pressure increased. From the friction coefficient measurements, it could be inferred that the friction coefficient increased as N۲ partial pressure increased. The images of samples after wear test showed that with increasing N۲ partial pressure wear resistance decreased. The results show that the partial pressure of N۲ has a great influence on the mechanical properties.

کلیدواژه ها:

Tantalum ، Hardness ، Friction coefficient ، Wear