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IJE TRANSACTIONS B: Applications Vol. 29, No. 5, (May 2016) 677-687 International Journal of Engineering Journal Homepage: www.ije.ir A Review on Titanium Nitride and Titanium Carbide Single and Multilayer Coatings Deposited by Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition a, A. Sabour Rouhaghdamb, S. Ahangaranic٭M. Azadi a Faculty of metallurgical Engineering and material, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran b Faculty of Engineering, Materials Engineering Department, Surface Engineering Laboratory ,Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran c Advanced Materials and Renewable Energies Department, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran P A P E R I N F O ABSTRACT Paper history: In this paper, we reviewed researches about the titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium carbide (TiC) Received 21 September 2015 single and multilayer coatings. These coatings were deposited by the plasma assisted chemical vapor Received in revised form 06 February 2016 deposition (PACVD) technique. Plasma-based technologies are used for the processing of thin films Accepted 4 March 2016 and coatings for different applications such as automobile and aerospace parts, computer disc drives, food industry and surgical/medical instruments. We describe the state of the performance of different Keywords: coating systems and thin film architectures in PACVD suitable for industrial-scale or laboratory Titanium Nitride applications. Mechanical properties of coatings such as wear resistance, hardness and the scratch Titanium Carbide resistance, structural characteristics, physical and chemical properties like coatings adhesion into Multilayer Coatings different substrates, wetting behavior and corrosion resistance were studied. Thus, this paper represents Hard Coatings a source of information for those who want to familiarize with the status of knowledge in the area of Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition materials science of functional coatings, in particular TiN/TiC coatings that was deposited by a new Plasma-based technologies. doi: 10.5829/idosi.ije.2016.29.05b.12 1. INTRODUCTION1 and that was related to the brittleness of the TiC phase which has a strong covalent bond. This limitation can be TiN and TiC have been identified as good materials for usually overcome by increasing the number of layers in different applications, based on their thermodynamic coatings. In wear-resistant layers on cutting tools, since stability and thermal shock resistance [1]. In addition, single-layer and hard coatings show less efficient and TiN coatings have good properties such as high fracture also less performance (due to specific characteristics) in toughness and maintaining their stability at high compare to multilayer coatings [2, 5, 6]. In addition, one temperatures. TiC coatings also have unique of the aims of multilayer deposition is to produce a fine- characteristics like high hardness and high elastic grained layer structure, in comparison with mono- modulus and low coefficient of friction [2]. Application layers, which mostly reveal a coarse-grained columnar of these hard coatings are vast and include cutting tools, structure, granular grown films have a better mechanical extrusion moldings [2], automobile and aerospace parts, strength. The structure in multilayer coatings can be machine parts [3], computer disc drives, precision different from that of single ones as the oriented growth instruments, surgical/medical instruments and human is changed by the composition and the structure of replacement organs [4]. single layers [5]. Although TiC coating has beneficial properties, To produce these coatings, physical and chemical applications as a single layer coating has been limited vapor depositions (PVD and CVD) offer a large variety of material coatings, high experimental flexibility as 1* well as minimization of waste disposal [7]. Advantages Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] (M.Azadi) of the PVD are deposited materials with improved Please cite this article as: M. Azadi, A. Sabour Rouhaghdam, S. Ahangarani, A Review on Titanium Nitride and Titanium Carbide Single and Multilayer Coatings Deposited by Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition, International Journal of Engineering (IJE), TRANSACTIONS B: Applications Vol. 29, No. 5, (May 2016) 677-687 M. Azadi et al. / IJE TRANSACTIONS B: Applications Vol. 29, No. 5, (May 2016) 677-687 678 properties, deposited organic material and were studied. Their result showed that by decreasing environmentally friendly process. Advantages of the coating temperature to 300°C was possible to deposit CVD are high purity (typically 99.99-99.999%), high layers with no chlorine content on hard metals. density (nearly 100% of theoretical), deposited material TiC/C, (Ti,Al)C and (Ti,Al)N layers by PACVD well below the melting point and economical in under D.C.-pulse discharge conditions discussed by production. But in all, application of PVD methods, due Bartsch et al. [17]. They studied the composition and to the low temperature, the low production rate and structure of coatings. Results showed that the friction coatings adhesion may decrease. In CVD methods, coefficient of TiC layers decreased to 0.3. They also Grain growth occurs and the quality of coating showed that oxygen impurities could cause a decrease properties reduces due to the high temperature [8, 9]. In in hardness of (Ti,Al)N layers. The layer stress addition, to produce TiN or TiC by CVD, a thermally decreased by about 50% as the thickness of single layers activated process, high deposition temperatures, above in multilayer coatings was about 100-300 nm. 1000°C, are needed. This is not a recommended method TiC coatings were deposited by Jarms et al. [18]. for steel substrates as overheating may occur above The variable parameters in this paper were the partial 600°C. The deposition temperature can be reduced pressure ratio of methane to titanium tetrachloride below 600°C through activation of reactive gases with (PCH4/PTiCl4), the plasma voltage and the pulse/pause extra energy sources such as plasma [10]. Thus, the ratio. The result showed that small partial pressure plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) is ratios up to 15 resulted in nearly stoichiometric TiC suitable for creating thin multilayer and single coatings coatings at high plasma voltage. Higher partial pressure on substrates, due to the possibility of achieving ratios caused excess carbon, which bound as C-C or C- properties at low temperatures, high deposition rate, H. Increasing carbon content was found also for both high throwing power and high adhesive strength [2, 11]. increasing plasma voltage and increasing pulse/pause In addition, when PACVD use the pulsed direct current, ratio. The layer hardness was found to decrease with it has great advantages. In this way the plasma can increasing excess carbon. No significant influence of penetrate holes and narrow cracks in complex composition on the friction coefficient detected in this components [12, 13]. paper. Many factors in coatings process like voltages, duty TiN, TiC and TiB2 were deposited by Pfohl et al. cycle, pressure, temperature and gas fluxes can have [19]. Composition, structure, hardness, adhesion, effect on coating properties [8]. Therefore, in depositing wetting behavior and corrosion resistance to aluminum single or multilayer coatings by PACVD process, many melt were the variable parameters. The result showed researchers studied these parameters. In this paper we that a proper PACVD coating could increase the reviewed the papers about single and multilayer lifetime by a factor of 130-300 with respect to an coatings of TiC, Ti(C,N) and TiN deposited by PACVD uncoated component. from 1991 to 2014 (nearly 25 years). The structure, and TiCx and amorphous carbon were deposited from mechanical, chemical and physical properties of gas mixtures by Leonhardt et al. [20]. The effect of the coatings were investigated. gas ratio and hydrogen content on the layer composition and properties were investigated in this paper. The a) Single Coating: TiC In 1991, C. Taischner et transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies al. [14] for the first time deposited TiC coatings on hard showed that the TiCx crystallites have a homogeneous metal substrates (WC/Co) using a d.c. PACVD at distribution and a grain size of 4-7 nm. They had no 667°C. The TiC coatings were deposited from the gas preferred texture. The excess carbon and dissolved phase with TiCl4, hydrogen, argon and a carbon source hydrogen could change the micro-hardness and surface (benzene or n-heptane). They reported that the film roughness. The absence of dissolved hydrogen deposition rate was in the range 10-30/μm h-1and increased the micro-hardness to 4000 HV [0.02]. Thus, coatings were smooth and had small grain size (10-30 a good candidate for sliding wear applications may be a nm). The measured Vickers micro-hardness passed layer of TiC/a-C due to the low surface roughness. through a maximum, dependent on the gas phase Kaestner et al. [21] studied the plasma diffusion composition. No change in the structure and texture was treatment before depositing coatings. Their results observed by variation of the carbon source. showed that plasma nitriding and carburizing changed The existence of a diamond-like carbon component TiC coatings adhesion due to the plasma diffusion or states of excess carbon atoms in the TiC coating was pretreatment and coating conditions. Plasma- studied by Oguri et al. [15] using laser Raman nitrocarburizing pretreatment