Tribological properties of ZrN coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering in reactive and non-reactive mode

Abstract

Zirconium and zirconium nitride coatings were deposited via magnetron sputtering by using high-purity zirconium or zirconium nitride targets. As a particularity, the zirconium nitride coatings were deposited by using a ZrN target via non-reactive mode or by using a Zr target via reactive technique, in argon/nitrogen environment. Depending on the time deposition, coatings with different thicknesses (200, 500 and 1000 nm) have been obtained. Chemical and phase composition, thickness of the coating and morphology of the surfaces were investigated by highly sensitive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). The wear tests have been performed by High Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR). The wear scar diameters decrease with an increase of coatings thickness, while the friction coefficient for the coatings with 500 nm thickness revealed the lowest values for friction coefficients, for all type of coatings.