Influence of Doped Cu-Zn on Structure and Properties of TiN Films

Cu-Zn doped TiN films were fabricated on stainless steel by hybrid magnetron sputtering. Influences of Cu and Zn concentration on structure and properties (such as microhardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance) of the films were investigated. The results indicate that growth of TiN grains is blocked by doped Cu and Zn and TiN grain size decreases with increasing Cu and Zn concentration. In contrast, high Cu and Zn content induces coarse structure due to the growth of copper grains. With Cu 0.38at% and Zn .19at%, the films show a preferred TiN(111) texture orientation, and TiN(200) orientation enhances with increasing the doped element content. XPS results show that the films are mainly composed of TiN and pure Cu. The composite film with co-doping 10.38at% Cu and 2.19at% Zn exhibits higher microhardness and wear resistance. The passivation potential is substantially improved with small amount of Cu-Zn although the corrosion resistance of the films decreases with increasing Cu and Zn concentration.