A comparative investigation on structure evolution of ZrN and CrN coatings against ion irradiation

Binary ZrN and CrN nanostructured coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering were irradiated with 600 keV Kr3+ at room temperature. The ion irradiation fluences varied from 0 to 1 x 10(17) Kr3+/cm(-2). The results indicate the microstructure of the CrN illustrates higher stability during the Kr3+ ion irradiation compared to that of the ZrN. The ion irradiation produces surface etching of the CrN coating. However, the etching transfers to recrystallization and grain coarsening on the ZrN coating surface as the Kr3+ fluence increases.Funding Agencies|National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China [51875109]; China Postdoctoral Science FoundationChina Postdoctoral Science Foundation [2016M600641]; Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong ProvinceNational Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province [2018A030310546]