Microstructure, oxidation resistance, mechanical and tribological properties of Mo-Al-N films by reactive magnetron sputtering

Mo-Al-N films with various Al content (3.7 at.%-18.3 at.%) were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering and the effects of Al content on the microstructure, mechanical, oxidation resistance and tribological properties of Mo-Al-N films were investigated. The results showed that the synthesized Mo-Al-N films exhibited the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure with (111)-preferred orientation. The oxidation resistance of Mo-Al-N films increased with increasing Al content. The hardness and elastic modulus of Mo-Al-N films first increased and then decreased with increasing Al content in the films and the highest values were 32.6 GPa and 494 GPa, respectively, at 3.7 at.% Al. The films with an Al content in the range between 4.1 at.% and 9.5 at.% were found to be optimized for wear resistance applications, which showed low average friction coefficient values of 0.31-0.35 and wear rate of 3.6 x 10(-9) -8.1 x 10(-9) mm(3)/Nmm. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.