Abstract Self-lubricant films combine the intrinsic properties of high oxidation resistance coatings with lubricious elements deposited as monolayer and/or multilayered configuration, offering an opportunity to design green coating materials. The present paper reports the influence of Ag additions (range 0–3.2 at.%), considered as low friction material, on the morphology, structure, mechanical properties, thermal stability and oxidation resistance of multilayered TiSiN/TiN(Ag) films deposited by sputtering. The surface morphology of the coatings progressively changed from a well-defined cauliflower structure to a tetrahedral and pyramid-like structure and the cross-section morphology became more compact with Ag incorporation. A decrease of coating's hardness and Young's modulus was observed with Ag additions, due to the incorporation of the soft silver on the structure. The coatings showed excellent thermal stability and revealed a good control to the Ag diffusion towards the surface in protective atmosphere. Ag additions did not affect the onset oxidation point of films. However, the oxidation resistance of the films was reduced with Ag inclusion, due to its additional transportation during the oxidation process, promoting additional paths for ions diffusion, giving rise to a less protective Ti-Si-O layer and contributing to the formation of big crystals of rutile on the top.

中文翻译：

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Ag合金化对多层TiSiN/Ti(Ag)N薄膜形貌、结构、力学性能、热稳定性和抗氧化性的影响

摘要 自润滑薄膜将高抗氧化涂层的固有特性与以单层和/或多层结构沉积的润滑元素相结合，为设计绿色涂层材料提供了机会。本论文报告了被认为是低摩擦材料的 Ag 添加量（范围 0–3.2 at.%）对通过沉积的多层 TiSiN/TiN(Ag) 薄膜的形态、结构、机械性能、热稳定性和抗氧化性的影响。溅射。涂层的表面形态逐渐从明确的花椰菜结构变为四面体和金字塔状结构，并且随着银的掺入，横截面形态变得更加紧凑。添加 Ag 后观察到涂层硬度和杨氏模量降低，由于在结构上加入了软银。涂层表现出优异的热稳定性，并显示出对保护气氛中银向表面扩散的良好控制。添加 Ag 不会影响薄膜的起始氧化点。然而，由于 Ag 在氧化过程中的额外传输，薄膜的抗氧化性降低了，因为它在氧化过程中增加了额外的离子扩散路径，导致保护性较差的 Ti-Si-O 层的形成，并有助于形成大的顶部的金红石晶体。