Study On Control (Ti, Al, Cr) N Super-hard Reactive Films Deposited By Muliti-arc Ion Plating

In order to improve the compositive properties of the super-hard reactive films, such as microhardness and wear-resistance, (Ti,Al,Cr)N super-hard reactive films have been deposited on high-speed steel substrate by using Ti-Al-Cr alloys cathodic targets with different compositions. The deposition parameters of the experiments were determined by referencing the ones in the depositions of the (Ti,Al)N, (Ti,Cr)N and (Ti,Al,Zr)N films. The uniform and dense microstructure has been obtained in all the (Ti,Al,Cr)N films with glabrous appearance and smooth surface under the conditions of the selected deposition processes.The surface morphology, the cross-fracture microstructure and the compositions of the (Ti,Al,Cr)N films have been investigated by OP and scanning electronic microscop(SEM), respectively. The micro-hardness values of the surfaces of all the deposited films have been measured by the digital Micro-hardness tester. The adhesive properties of film/substrate have been measured by scratch test. The critical loads and the pull-broken tendency of the films have been obtained. The wear-resistant properties of the films at room temperature and high temperature have been measured by the high temperature friction abrasion tester. The evaluation on wear-resistance properties of the films has been presented. The oxidation experiments of the films at 600℃and 800℃have been carried out in electrical resistance furnace. The oxidation-resistance properties then were discussed and evaluated.The present investigation showed that all the (Ti,Al,Cr)N super-hardness reactive films deposited by multi-arc ion plating technology had excellent compositve properties. The films were composed by uniform and densely columnar microstructure. The primary phases existing in the films were fcc-Ti3AlCrN and hcp-AlCrN phases. The micro-hardness values higher than 3300HV, the adhesive strength in terms of critical load values higher than180N and also, the good wear-resistance at normal and high temperatures were reached in all of the as-deposited films. Moreover, All the films displayed excellent oxidation-resistance at 600℃. One of the films with certain composition and deposited by using certain targets displayed fine oxidation-resistance at 800℃. The above results showed that the as-deposited (Ti, Al, Cr)N super-hard reactive films were more available and advantageous than TiN, (Ti, Al)N and (Ti, Cr)N hard films. The (Ti, Al, Cr)N films can further prolong the life of the cutting tools, meet the requirement for high properties and then have bright prospects in industry application.