Deposition of nitride layer on pin and ring piston surface by using DC sputtering technique

Sputtering is a very useful technique for depositing various thin layer of an element or a mixture. In this study, titanium nitride thin film deposited on the surface of engine components (pins and piston rings) using DC sputtering technique with the purpose to improve their mechanical properties of the component surface. The deposition was carried out for various of process parameters including substrate temperature and deposition time. From the hardness test of the substrate surface of the deposited pin and piston rings with a layer of titanium nitride obtained that there is an increasing in hardness in order of 11.76% for pins and 98.57% for rings. The formation phenomenon of TiN and FeN layer on the surface of the pin and piston rings can be observed from the microstructure and element composition using SEM-EDAX. From the element composition data indicates that the elements Ti and N deposited on the surface of the piston pin is 5.40% and 0.66% atoms, whereas in the piston ring is 15.73% and 2.10% atoms. Piston pin and piston ring containing 70.32% atoms and 76.86% atoms of Fe. In the sputtering process, nitrogen will react with the elements Fe and Ti to form TiN and FeN hard phase. (author)