Study on the mechanical and chemical properties of (Ti,Al)N films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

The deposition technology of (Ti,Al)N films prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering was studied. The experimental results indicate that the hardness, wear resistance and oxidation resistance of (Ti,Al)N films are superior to those of TiN films. The AES results show that the superior anti-oxidation characteristics of (Ti,Al)N films at high temperature result from the formation of protective Al2O3 layers as a result of selective oxidation of Al. But the electrochemical measurements show that the corrosion resistance of (Ti,Al)N films is not as good as that of TiN films.