Investigation of TiC films synthesized by low energy ion bombardment

Low energy bombardment of CHⁿ⁺ at 100-800 eV has been used to prepare TiC film at room temperature by dual ion beam sputtering. The ion bombardment energies and densities obviously affect the metallographic morphology, the crystalline orientation, and constituent ratio of TiC films. TiC films formed under 200-600 eV CHⁿ⁺ bombarding with 120-190 μA/cm² possess much finer and compact microstructure in the compressive stress state. Its hardness is in the range of 2650-2880 kgf/mm². The tribological tests indicate that TiC films synthesized on AISI 52100 steel by DIBS with low energy bombardment exhibit low friction coefficient and good wear resistance.