Influence of nitrogen vacancies on the decomposition route and age hardening of wurtzite Ti1−xAlxNy thin filmsShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. A. Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, ISSN 0734-2101, E-ISSN 1520-8559, Vol. 41, no 6, article id 063413Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The wurtzite phase of TiAlN has been known to form in industrial grade coatings with high Al content; yet, a significant knowledge gap exists regarding its behavior at high temperatures and the impact of defects on its properties. Specifically, its response to high temperatures and the implications of defects on its characteristics are poorly understood. Here, the high-temperature decomposition of nitrogen-deficient epitaxial wurtzite Ti1-xAlxNy (x = 0.79-0.98, y = 0.82-0.86) films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering was investigated using x-ray diffractometry and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. The results show that wurtzite Ti(1-x)Al(x)Ny decomposes by forming intermediary MAX phases, which then segregate into pure c-TiN and w-AlN phases after high-temperature annealing and intermetallic TiAl nanoprecipitates. The semicoherent interfaces between the wurtzite phase and the precipitates cause age hardening of approximately 4-6 GPa, which remains even after annealing at 1200 degrees C. These findings provide insight into how nitrogen vacancies can influence the decomposition and mechanical properties of wurtzite TiAlN.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
A V S AMER INST PHYSICS , 2023. Vol. 41, no 6, article id 063413
National Category
Condensed Matter Physics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-199424DOI: 10.1116/6.0003074ISI: 001104406700001OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-199424DiVA, id: diva2:1816730
Note
Funding Agencies|The authors acknowledge the support of ViNNOVA (FunMat-II Project Grant No. 2016-05156), the Swedish Research Council (VR Grant Nos. 2017-03813, 2017-06701, and 2021-00357), and the Swedish government strategic research area grant AFM-SFO MatLiU (No. 2009- [2016-05156]; Swedish Research Council (VR) [2021-00357]; Swedish government strategic research area grant AFM-SFO MatLiU [2009-00971]
2023-12-042023-12-042024-09-12