Ti/TiSiNO Multilayers Fabricated by Co-sputtering

Multilayer coatings of titanium/ titanium silicon oxynitride (Ti/TiSiNO) were fabricated on stainless steel 434-L substrates by sputtering technique using Ti and TiSiO targets. The multilayers were formed by alternately and simultaneously introducing and suspending a 4-sccm flow of nitrogen together with an interchange of targets, during different time periods of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 min; thus, we obtained intervals of different thickness by alternating the target (Ti) and using only argon, and later with both targets (Ti + TiSiO) and the two gases (Ar + N2). The final thickness was within a range of 0.4-0.8 μm, depending on the number of multi layers obtained by means of glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. The structure, topography, color, durability and nanofriction were analyzed in accordance with the growth parameters used. It was found that the values of hardness depend on the number of layers deposited. The greatest number of layers, 48 of them, was obtained with a time period of 1 min, thereby attaining the maximum value of hardness and the minimum value for both the friction coefficient and the RMS, with 31 GPa, 7.42 × 10−3 and 0.17 nm, respectively. The phases found correspond to Ti2N, Si3N4, rutile phase of TiO2 and Ti. The TiO2 phase was corroborated with Raman dispersion spectroscopy. The color of the coatings was affected by variation in the working pressure, which varied because of the internal process of reactive sputtering.