The influence of microstructural orientation on fracture toughness in (V, Al)N and (V, Al)(O, N) coatings as measured by microcantilever bending

Since protective transition metal (oxy)nitride coatings are widely used, understanding of the mechanisms linking microstructure to their fracture behaviour is required to optimise wear resistance, while maintaining fracture toughness. To assess this interconnection, beam bending was performed using microcantilevers oriented parallel and at 90° to the growth direction. Furthermore, the tests were applied to favour normal bending and shear fracture. Coatings were synthesised by both direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) as well as high power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS). Here, we show that the fracture toughness depends on the alignment of the grains and loading directions. Furthermore, an improved fracture toughness was found in coatings produced by HPPMS, when microstructural defects, such as underdense regions in DCMS deposited coatings can be excluded. We propose indices based on fracture and mechanical properties to rank those coatings. Here, the HPPMS deposited oxynitride showed the best combination of mechanical properties and fracture toughness. Principle of measuring the effects of microstructure and process route on the fracture toughness via microcantilever bending.

[1]  A. Limbeck,et al.  Revisiting the origins of super-hardness in TiB2+z thin films – Impact of growth conditions and anisotropy , 2022, Surface and Coatings Technology.

[2]  B. Beake.  The influence of the H/E ratio on wear resistance of coating systems – Insights from small-scale testing , 2022, Surface and Coatings Technology.

[3]  J. Schneider,et al.  Unravelling the ion-energy-dependent structure evolution and its implications for the elastic properties of (V,Al)N thin films , 2021 .

[4]  D. Primetzhofer,et al.  Correlation between fracture characteristics and valence electron concentration of sputtered Hf-C-N based thin films , 2020, Surface and Coatings Technology.

[5]  S. Brinckmann,et al.  Experimental conditions affecting the measured fracture toughness at the microscale: Notch geometry and crack extension measurement , 2020, Materials & Design.

[6]  C. Kirchlechner,et al.  How tensile tests allow a screening of the fracture toughness of hard coatings , 2020 .

[7]  M. Smedskjaer,et al.  On the relation between fracture toughness and crack resistance in oxide glasses , 2020 .

[8]  F. Giuliani,et al.  Deformation behaviour of TiN and Ti–Al–N coatings at 295 to 573 K , 2019, Thin Solid Films.

[9]  Yip-Wah Chung,et al.  Commentary on using H/E and H/E as proxies for fracture toughness of hard coatings , 2019, Thin Solid Films.

[10]  G. I. Kustova,et al.  From the author , 2019, Automatic Documentation and Mathematical Linguistics.

[11]  J. Schneider,et al.  Fracture toughness of Mo2BC thin films: Intrinsic toughness versus system toughening , 2018, Materials & Design.

[12]  M. Bartosik,et al.  Mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of Al-Cr-N/Ti-Al-Ta-N multilayer coatings , 2018, Surface and Coatings Technology.

[13]  D. Kiener,et al.  In-situ elastic-plastic fracture mechanics on the microscale by means of continuous dynamical testing , 2018, Materials & Design.

[14]  Zaoli Zhang,et al.  Fracture toughness of Ti-Si-N thin films , 2018 .

[15]  S. Reese,et al.  From quantum to continuum mechanics: studying the fracture toughness of transition metal nitrides and oxynitrides , 2018 .

[16]  Zaoli Zhang,et al.  Fracture toughness and structural evolution in the TiAlN system upon annealing , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[17]  J. Gudmundsson,et al.  Vanadium and vanadium nitride thin films grown by high power impulse magnetron sputtering , 2017 .

[18]  S. Korte-Kerzel.  Microcompression of brittle and anisotropic crystals: recent advances and current challenges in studying plasticity in hard materials , 2017 .

[19]  J. Schneider,et al.  Unprecedented thermal stability of inherently metastable titanium aluminum nitride by point defect engineering , 2017 .

[20]  J. Schneider,et al.  Unprecedented Al supersaturation in single-phase rock salt structure VAlN films by Al+ subplantation , 2017 .

[21]  K. Bobzin,et al.  Nitridische und oxinitridische HPPMS‐Beschichtungen für den Einsatz in der Kunststoffverarbeitung (Teil 2) , 2017 .

[22]  M. Göken,et al.  Fracture toughness evaluation of NiAl single crystals by microcantilevers—a new continuous J-integral method , 2016 .

[23]  K. Bobzin,et al.  Nitridische und oxinitridische HPPMS‐Beschichtungen für den Einsatz in der Kunststoffverarbeitung (Teil 1) , 2016 .

[24]  O. Kraft,et al.  Fracture toughness characterization of single-crystalline tungsten using notched micro-cantilever specimens , 2016 .

[25]  A. Hirata,et al.  Sample size induced brittle-to-ductile transition of single-crystal aluminum nitride , 2015 .

[26]  J. Schneider,et al.  Effect of oxygen incorporation on the structure and elasticity of Ti-Al-O-N coatings synthesized by cathodic arc and high power pulsed magnetron sputtering , 2014 .

[27]  J. Schneider,et al.  Nonmetal sublattice population induced defect structure in transition metal aluminum oxynitrides , 2013 .

[28]  A. Makeev,et al.  Short‐beam Shear Method for Assessment of Stress–Strain Curves for Fibre‐reinforced Polymer Matrix Composite Materials , 2013 .

[29]  J. Schneider,et al.  Theoretical study of elastic properties and phase stability of M0.5Al0.5N1−xOx (M = Sc, Ti, V, Cr) , 2013 .

[30]  Ali Khatibi,et al.  Structural and mechanical properties of Cr–Al–O–N thin films grown by cathodic arc deposition , 2012 .

[31]  E. Lilleodden,et al.  Mechanical Testing of Solid–Solid Interfaces at the Microscale , 2012 .

[32]  A. Voevodin,et al.  Temperature driven evolution of thermal, electrical, and optical properties of Ti–Al–N coatings , 2012, Acta materialia.

[33]  M. Göken,et al.  In situ micro-cantilever tests to study fracture properties of NiAl single crystals , 2012 .

[34]  U. Helmersson,et al.  On the film density using high power impulse magnetron sputtering , 2010 .

[35]  J. Schneider,et al.  Experimental and computational study on the phase stability of Al-containing cubic transition metal nitrides , 2010 .

[36]  T. Detzel,et al.  Interface fracture properties of thin films studied by using the micro-cantilever deflection technique , 2009 .

[37]  T. Detzel,et al.  A comparative micro-cantilever study of the mechanical behavior of silicon based passivation films , 2009 .

[38]  A. K. Tyagi,et al.  Significance of Aluminum on Hardness of Titanium Aluminum Nitride Deposited by Magnetron Co-Sputtering , 2009 .

[39]  P. Mayrhofer,et al.  Structure and phase evolution of Cr–Al–N coatings during annealing , 2008 .

[40]  R. Murdey,et al.  Structure and mechanical properties of arc evaporated Ti–Al–O–N thin films , 2007 .

[41]  J. Musil,et al.  Toughness of hard nanostructured ceramic thin films , 2007 .

[42]  J. Schneider,et al.  Influence of the Al distribution on the structure, elastic properties, and phase stability of supersaturated Ti1- xAlxN , 2006 .

[43]  M. Birkholz.  Thin Film Analysis by X-Ray Scattering: BIRKHOLZ:THIN FILM X-RAY O-BK , 2006 .

[44]  B. Sartory,et al.  Investigation of the properties of Al1−xCrxN coatings prepared by cathodic arc evaporation , 2005 .

[45]  Steve Bull,et al.  Nanoindentation of coatings , 2005 .

[46]  M. Odén,et al.  Mechanical properties and machining performance of Ti1−xAlxN-coated cutting tools , 2005 .

[47]  D. Maio,et al.  Measuring fracture toughness of coatings using focused-ion-beam-machined microbeams , 2005 .

[48]  Lars Hultman,et al.  Microstructural evolution during film growth , 2003 .

[49]  Kirsten Bobzin,et al.  Investigation of the residual stresses and mechanical properties of (Cr,Al)N arc PVD coatings used for semi-solid metal (SSM) forming dies , 2002 .

[50]  L. Hultman,et al.  Influence of high power densities on the composition of pulsed magnetron plasmas , 2002 .

[51]  J. Schneider,et al.  Ionized sputter deposition using an extremely high plasma density pulsed magnetron discharge , 2000 .

[52]  J. Schneider,et al.  A novel pulsed magnetron sputter technique utilizing very high target power densities , 1999 .

[53]  B. Karpuschewski,et al.  Performance of oxygen-rich TiALON coatings in dry cutting applications , 1998 .

[54]  E. Arzt.  Size effects in materials due to microstructural and dimensional constraints: a comparative review , 1998 .

[55]  Sarah V. Hainsworth,et al.  Analysis of nanoindentation load-displacement loading curves , 1996 .

[56]  C. Wang.  Timoshenko Beam-Bending Solutions in Terms of Euler-Bernoulli Solutions , 1995 .

[57]  J. Abelson,et al.  Mass and energy resolved detection of ions and neutral sputtered species incident at the substrate during reactive magnetron sputtering of Ti in mixed Ar+N2 mixtures , 1994 .

[58]  George M. Pharr,et al.  Measurement of Thin Film Mechanical Properties Using Nanoindentation , 1992 .

[59]  G. Pharr,et al.  An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments , 1992 .

[60]  Michael F. Ashby,et al.  The damage mechanics of brittle solids in compression , 1990 .

[61]  S. Barnett,et al.  Growth of single-crystal TiN/VN strained-layer superlattices with extremely high mechanical hardness , 1987 .

[62]  J. Sundgren,et al.  Structure and properties of TiN coatings , 1985 .

[63]  D. Sadoway,et al.  Electrical Resistivities of Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline TiB2 , 1984 .

[64]  F. Erdogan,et al.  Stress Intensity Factors , 1983 .

[65]  W. Williams.  High-Temperature Thermal Conductivity of Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides , 1966 .

[66]  M. Burghammer,et al.  Grain boundary design of thin films: Using tilted brittle interfaces for multiple crack deflection toughening , 2017 .

[67]  T. Hueber.  Thin Film Analysis By X Ray Scattering , 2016 .

[68]  J. Schneider,et al.  4.14 – Protective Transition Metal Nitride Coatings , 2014 .

[69]  Xueliang Li,et al.  On a Relation Between , 2012 .

[70]  Jahn Perkins,et al.  O F , 2010 .

[71]  J. Barbera,et al.  Contact mechanics , 1999 .

[72]  Theo Fett,et al.  Stress intensity factors and weight functions for special crack problems , 1998 .