Paper SE+PS-TuA8
Structure and Properties of Cr₂O₃ Coatings Deposited using DCMS, PDCMS, and DOMS

Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 4:40 pm, Room 212A

The properties of oxide coatings are strongly tied to the crystallinity of oxide phases. In general, a well-crystallized oxide phase is desired because it is usually related to improved mechanical and chemical properties. This paper presents a comparative study of the chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃) coatings deposited by deep oscillation magnetron sputtering (DOMS), mid-frequency pulsed dc magnetron sputtering (PDCMS) and continuous dc magnetron sputtering (DCMS). Without applying external substrate heating, the processing techniques strongly affected the crystallinity of the Cr₂O₃ coatings. The DCMS-Cr₂O₃ coating exhibited an amorphous like structure. The coating deposited by PDCMS contained a mixture of amorphous and crystalline phases. In contrast, the DOMS-Cr₂O₃ coating showed a strong crystallinity with a (110) preferential orientation. The improved crystallinity of the DOMS-Cr₂O₃ coating is due to the higher ion bombardment and higher substrate saturation temperature, which is related to the high energy electron bombardment associated with deep oscillation pulses. Improved mechanical properties and wear resistance were achieved in the DOMS-Cr₂O₃ coatings as compared to the coatings deposited using DCMS and PDCMS. This study also showed that the bias voltage strongly affected the structure of the DOMS-Cr₂O₃ coatings by changing the substrate current characteristics.