Sputtering pressure effects on the structural and mechanical properties of TiVCr alloy coatings

In this study, TiVCr alloy coatings were deposited on Si substrates by magnetron sputtering system at different working pressures (0.33–1 Pa). The TiVCr coatings have a composite structure with amorphous and body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal phases comprised of bundles of fine fibrous structures and V-shaped columnar structures, respectively. Compared with the amorphous zone, the crystalline zone has a denser and more compact structure. The coating microstructure became more porous as working pressure increased. Consequently, the crystal zones of the deposited coatings at 0.33 Pa obtained higher hardness (11.6 GPa) while the deposited coatings at 1 Pa achieved lower hardness (4.5 GPa).