Effect of Substrate Temperature on Structure and Mechanical Properties of ZrN Coatings

The effect of deposition temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of ZrN coatings fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering was investigated. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, nanoindentation and scratch test were applied to characterize the ZrN coatings. The results show that with the increasing of substrate temperature the preferred orientation of the coating changed from (111) to (200), the ZrN crystalline phase almost disappeared at 600 degrees C resulting from nitrogen loss and the formation of ZrO(2) phase. From 50 degrees C to 450 degrees C, the coatings showed columnar structure, and at 600 degrees C the columnar disappeared, presenting equiaxed structure instead. The hardness of coatings showed few significant variations under 450 degrees C, and at 600 degrees C the coating hardness dropped for the low crystallinity and ZrO(2) phase softening. The substrate-coating adhesion decreased with the increasing of temperature before 450 degrees C, and then followed by an elevation at 600 degrees C