Nucleation and growth of CVD α-Al2O3 on TixOy template

The microstructure, phase and chemical composition of TixOy templates used to nucleate α-Al2O3 on Ti(C,N) coated cemented carbide have been elucidated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy and Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. Further, the adhesive strength of the α-Al2O3–TixOy–Ti(C,N) interfaces was investigated using scratch adhesion testing. esent study confirmed that the as-deposited template consisted of a Ti4O7 phase which during subsequent deposition of the Al2O3 layer transformed to a Ti3O5 phase and that the grown Al2O3 layer consisted of 100% α-Al2O3. Furthermore, the results showed that the lowest interfacial strength within the multilayer structure was exhibited by the Ti(C,N)–TixOy interface and that the transformation of Ti4O7 to Ti3O5 in the template resulted in formation of pores in the Ti(C,N)-template interface lowering the interfacial strength even more. The use of surface analysis techniques such as Auger electron spectroscopy and especially Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry enabled trace element analyses using depth profiling to characterise the thin interfacial layers in detail.