Open    Access



Flexible Ti-Ni-N Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering




Author(s)

Jindrich Musil, Richard Jílek and Radomír Čerstvý

Full-Text PDF XML     962 Views

DOI:doi: 10.17265/2161-6213/2014.01.004

Department of Physics and New Technologies for Information Society (NTIS), European Centre of Excellence, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of West Bohemia, CZ-306 14 Plzeň, Czech Republic

The article reports on flexible Ti-Ni-N films which exhibit an enhanced resistance to cracking in bending. The Ti-Ni-N films
were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering using a dual magnetron. Results of reported experiments demonstrate that: a low effective Young’s modulus E* = E/(1-ν2) resulting in a high ratio H/E* ≥ 0.1; a high elastic recovery We ≥ 60% and a compressive macrostress (σ < 0) are necessary conditions which ensure that the Ti-Ni-N films exhibit an enhanced resistance against cracking in bending; here E is the Young’s modulus and ν is the Poison’s ratio. The Ti-Ni-N films with these properties belong to a new class of advanced coatings called flexible coatings. These coatings are simultaneously hard, tough and resistant to cracking.

Flexible coatings, hardness, Young’s modulus, elastic recovery, macrostress, resistance to cracking.