Impact of Deposition Power and Gas Flow Ratio on the Tribological Properties of Titanium Vanadium Nitride Thin Films

Magnetron sputtering was used for producing titanium vanadium nitride (TiVN) coatings on brass substrates. In this research, we investigate how changing the sputtering power and nitrogen:argon (N2:Ar) gas ratio affects the structural and tribological properties of TiVN coatings. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to examine TiVN coating surface morphology. Both variants showed a gradual increase in the intensity of the TiVN coatings' (111) and (222) peaks. The TiVN coatings' tribological properties were examined using a pin-on-disc tribometer with varying loads, speeds, and sliding distances. The wear rates of TiVN-coated brass pins were in the range of 2.5 x 10-4 to 9.14 x 10-4 mm3/Nm depending on load, sliding distance, and gas ratio variation, when compared to the wear rates of TiVN-coated brass pins deposited at various powers, which ranged from 1.76 x 10-3 to 5.87 x 10-3 mm3/Nm.

Automated summary

This study used magnetron sputtering to produce TiVN coatings on brass substrates and investigated the impact of sputtering power and nitrogen:argon gas ratio on the structural and tribological properties of the coatings. The results showed that the variations in sputtering power and gas ratio affected the structure and tribological properties of the coatings.