Nanocrystalline thin films synthesized from a Ti2AlN compound target by high power impulse magnetron sputtering technique

Ti–Al–N thin films were synthesized utilizing a high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) from a Ti2AlN compound target. The deposition temperatures and bias voltages were varied in the range of room temperature (RT) to 450 °C and 0 V to − 70 V, respectively. It was indicated that amorphous films formed at low deposition temperatures of RT and 300 °C, which changed into MAX-phase Ti2AlN films after vacuum annealing at 800 °C for 1 h. Densely packed nano-fibrous crystalline films mainly composing of Ti2AlN MAX phase and tetragonal Ti2N phase were acquired at deposition temperature of 450 °C, which exhibited stable film structure during vacuum annealing at 800 °C. The Ti2AlN–Ti2N composite films exhibited excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance, as compared to (Ti,Al)N film having same Ti/Al ratio and/or TiN film synthesized by a hybrid coating system with HIPIMS and DC pulse magnetron sputtering. The mechanical properties of the Ti2AlN–Ti2N films were also investigated in this work.