Comparative study on microstructure, crystallite size and lattice strain of as-deposited and thermal treatment silver silicon nitride coating on Ti6Al4V alloy

Abstract

Silver silicon nitride coating were deposited on Ti6Al4V alloy using physical vapor deposition magnetron sputtering technique. Field Emission Spectroscopy (FESEM), Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize as-deposited and after heat treatment of AgSiN coatings in order to understand the morphology, compositions and structure. Meanwhile, in determining the crystallite size and lattice strain, the simplified Williamson-Hall plot method was utilized. The heat treated coated sample shown to reveal granular surface structure, bigger crystallite size and lattice strain as compared to the as-deposited coated sample.