Relationship between bias voltage and microstructure as well as properties of CrAlYN films

In this work, a series of CrAlYN films doped with 1 at.% yttrium were deposited by unbalanced reactive magnetron sputtering under different bias voltages. The effects of bias voltage on microstructure and properties of the CrAlYN films were subsequently investigated. It is found that all the as-deposited films have similar chemical composition and crystalline structure. However, the bias voltage has significant impact on the mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of the resulting films. Namely, the film deposited at 100 V has the highest hardness and best oxidation resistance, which are mainly attributed to its denser structure and higher Al content than others. In addition, the film obtained at 100 V exhibits superior oxidation resistance even at 1000 °C, and good friction and wear properties at 600 and 800 °C, and the latter two are mainly ascribed to the formation of compact transfer layer on the worn surfaces. However, this film experienced obvious wear loss at low testing temperatures (i.e., 200 and 400 °C) due to the serious abrasive wear. (paper)