Acquiring the optimum growth conditions of Ti-Al-N films, the effects of gas atmosphere, especially the reactive plasma on the material microstructures, and mechanical properties are still a fundamental and important issue. In this study, Ti-Al-N films are reactively deposited by radio frequency inductively coupled plasma ion source (RF-ICPIS) enhanced sputtering system. Different nitrogen gas flow rates in letting into the ion source are adopted to obtain nitrogen plasma densities and alter deposition atmosphere. It is found the nitrogen element contents in the films are quite influenced by the nitrogen plasma density, and the maximum value can reach as high as 67.8% at high gas flow circumstance. XRD spectra and FESEM images indicate that low plasma density is benefit for the film crystallization and dense microstructure. Moreover, the mechanical properties like hardness and tribological performance are mutually enhanced by adjusting the nitrogen atmosphere.

中文翻译：

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RF-ICP离子源增强的活性氮等离子体气氛引起的Ti-Al-N薄膜的微观结构和力学性能的变化。

获得Ti-Al-N薄膜的最佳生长条件，气体气氛，特别是反应性等离子体对材料微观结构的影响以及机械性能仍然是一个基本而重要的问题。在这项研究中，Ti-Al-N薄膜通过射频感应耦合等离子体离子源（RF-ICPIS）增强溅射系统进行反应性沉积。在进入离子源时采用不同的氮气流速以获得氮等离子体密度并改变沉积气氛。发现膜中氮元素的含量受氮等离子体密度的影响很大，在高气流条件下最大值可高达67.8％。XRD光谱和FESEM图像表明，低等离子体密度有利于薄膜结晶和致密的微观结构。此外，