Adhesion of ZrN and SiC thin films on titanium and nickel alloys

Chemically inert ceramic coatings are currently being investigated to extend the lifetime of metallic components operating in severe environments. Polycrystalline ZrN and amorphous SiC coatings were deposited by cathodic arc evaporation and by PACVD, respectively, on Titanium Grade 12 and Incoloy 825 metal substrates. The structure of the coatings was verified by SEM and XRD. Residual stress analyses were performed on the ZrN coatings via XRD using the sin2 φ method. Compressive stresses of 3.7 GPa and 2.5 GPa were calculated in the ZrN on the Incoloy and Titanium substrates, respectively. Studies of the interfacial chemistry via AES revealed chemically abrupt interfaces. Scratch tests were employed to assess the critical load for interfacial failure and fracture mechanisms for the various coating systems. Critical loads, characterized by a kidney-shaped crack patterns found in the scratch tracks, occurred at 12 N for ZrN on Titanium and 20 N for ZrN on Incoloy. Interfacial failure of SiC on Titanium was dominated by brittle fracture of the SiC coating at 3N loads