Colors And Properties Of The Ornamental TiN Films Deposited By Multi-Arc Ion Plating

In this dissertation, a series of TiN films with various colors were deposited onhigh-speed steel,3Cr13stainless steel and silicon slice by the improved domestic AIP-01XMulti-Arc Ion Plating equipment. The color of the films was observed and characterized byvisible spectrophotometer. The surface morphology of the film, cross-section morphologyand particle contamination were analyzed by using the scanning electron microscope. Thephase structure and preferred orientation of the film were studied by using X-ray. Themicrohardness of the films was determined by using the Vickers hardness tester. The effect ofthe process parameters on the color and performance was comprehensively assessed.Large particles in the TiN film were observed by scanning electron microscopy. It wasfound that large particles in the film is composed of three layers, from inside to outside,respectively, the droplet layer-middle layer-crystal layer, which the organization andstructure of the crystalline layer is very close to thin film. Seen from the sectionalmorphology, the large particles are droplet-based, inverted cone spread with the cone angle ofapproximately30degrees. The core of large particles is at0.5μm, while the large particlesobserved on the surface is2-3μm because of the conical divergence. And most of the dropletscore of these large particles deposited in the early stages of film formation, which has littleinfluence on the color of the film, but reduce the film’s lightness by introducing a largenumber of defects.The variation of the nitrogen flow and the current of target can remarkably change thecolors and properties of the TiN films. The variation of the current of target will make up forthe variation of nitrogen flow. That is, the effect of the magnification of the current of targetis similar to the diminution of the nitrogen flow. With the magnification of nitrogen flow orthe diminution of the current of target, the color of the TiN films will change from silverwhite, to pale yellow, to golden yellow and eventually to dark yellow. In the surfacemorphology, the number and the size of the macroparticles will both decrease. With theenlargement of the nitrogen flow, the hardness of the films will increase gradually. However,with the magnification of the current of target, the hardness of the film will obviouslyincrease. Untill the quality of the films degrades because of the macroparticles, as a result thehardness of the films is influenced.Appropriate bias voltage can improve the binding force of the films. Based on thisexperiment’s technological parameters, the result shows that, the most appropriate voltage is150V, the duty ratio is20%when the TiN film was depositied on the substrate of3Cr13.Since the substrate used to decorate plating is always of poor property, its tolerance ability isvery limited. High voltage or oversized duty ratio will not only fail to improve the hardnessand the binding force of the films, but also lead to the degrading of the substrate’s property,affecting the supporting capacity of the films, as a result, the hardness and the binding forceof the films degrade.