Pulsed-dc bias magnetron sputtered TiB2 ceramic coating

Titanium diboride, TiB2, is well known as a ceramic material with a hexagonal structure which presents various attractive properties, such as high hardness and excellent corrosion, thermal oxidation, and wear resistance. However, one drawback of TiB2 coatings is their poor adhesion to substrate materials due to high compressive residual stress after deposition. The present study aimed to assess whether a PVD-TiB2 coating with both high hardness and sufficiently good adhesion to the substrate and good wear properties can be developed by a closedfield unbalanced magnetron sputtering system using pulsed-dc biasing. The TiB2 coating deposited on AISI M2 steel substrates was characterized in terms of the structural, mechanical and tribological property. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that a closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering system using pulsed-dc biasing can be used to produce a TiB2 coating with sufficiently good adhesion (82 N), and high hardness (2300 HK0.01), and low friction (0.34) under given deposition conditions. The deposition conditions, particularly substrate biasing and rotation, which inhibited the formation of (001) orientation, played a role the coating's lack of superhardness.

Journal

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REFRACTORY METALS & HARD MATERIALS

Year

2024

Volume

120

ISSN

0263-4368

eISSN

2213-3917

DOI

10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2024.106624

WoS UID

WOS:001201891800001