Influence of discharge pulse duration on the structure, composition, and tribological properties of TiBₓ coatings deposited by dual magnetron sputtering
摘要
The paper investigates the influence of discharge pulse duration ton (7 and 100 µs) on the composition, structure, and mechanical properties of TiBₓ coatings deposited by the dual high-power impulse magnetron sputtering method using Ti and TiB2 targets. X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that reducing the pulse duration increased the titanium content in the coatings, lowering the B/Ti ratio from 2.3 to 1.3. X‑ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed a structural transformation from a polycrystalline coating deposited at ton = 100 µs to an amorphous/nanocrystalline state for the coating deposited at ton = 7 µs. While the hardness values were similar for both coatings (~41 GPa), the friction coefficient decreased from 0.94 to 0.83 with the shorter pulse duration. This study demonstrates that adjusting the magnetron power supply parameters, specifically the pulse duration, is an effective tool for tailoring the properties of TiBx coatings, showing great promise for applications requiring high hardness and improved wear resistance.