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Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is a coating technique that relies on the creation of a vapor phase, under vacuum conditions, that condenses on a substrate to form a coating. PVD coatings of titanium nitride are commonly used in functional applications to promote faster cutting speeds and to prolong tool life, leading to operational cost savings and improved productivity. Some of the limitations of a PVD coating for functional applications are based on the coating thickness, where a lower coating thickness reduces the wear volume available on a contacting surface. Also of issue is the presence of globules or "macros" in the coating resulting in a non-homogeneous, rougher surface. The formation of macros in a PVD coating is particularly associated with the cathodic arc PVD system. This study investigated the effects of chamber pressure, substrate bias voltage and arc current and their interaction, on physical parameters of titanium nitride coatings deposited in a commercial cathodic arc PVD system. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to provide a measure of the consistency of the coating topography and an indication of the number of macros in the coatings. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used to provide numerical values for the roughness of the coatings. The information from these two instruments was combined to provide the optimum processing conditions for the reduction of macros.

Cathodic arc evaporation (CAE) is a widely-used technique for generating highly ionized plasma from which hard and wear resistant physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings can be deposited. A major drawback of this technique is the emission of micrometer-sized droplets of cathode material from the arc spot, which are commonly referred to as "macroparticles." In present study, titanium nitride (TiN) coatings on high-speed steel (HSS) coupons were produced with a cathodic arc evaporation technique. We studied and discussed the effect of various nitrogen gas flow rates on microstructural and mechanical properties of TiN-coated HSS coupons. The coating properties investigated in this work included the surface morphology, thickness of deposited coating, adhesion between the coating and substrate, coating composition, coating crystallography, hardness and surface characterization using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) with glazing incidence angle (GIA) technique, scratch tester, hardness testing machine, surface roughness tester, and atomic force microscope (AFM). An increase in the nitrogen gas flow rate showed decrease in the formation of macro-droplets in CAE PVD technique. During XRD-GIA studies, it was observed that by increasing the nitrogen gas flow rate, the main peak [1,1,1] shifted toward the lower angular position. Surface roughness decreased with an increase in nitrogen gas flow rate but was higher than the uncoated polished sample. Microhardness of TiN-coated HSS coupons showed more than two times increase in hardness than the uncoated one. Scratch tester results showed good adhesion between the coating material and substrate. Considerable improvement in the properties of TiN-deposited thin films was achieved by the strict control of all operational steps.

In the present study, TiN coatings have been deposited on D2 tool steel substrates by using cathodic arc physical vapor deposition technique. The objective of this research work is to determine the usefulness of TiN coatings in order to improve the micro-Vickers hardness and friction coefficient of TiN coating deposited on D2 tool steel, which is widely used in tooling applications. A Pin-on-Disc test was carried out to study the coefficient of friction versus sliding distance of TiN coating deposited at various substrate biases. The standard deviation parameter during tribo-test result showed that the coating deposited at substrate bias of -75 V was the most stable coating. A significant increase in micro-Vickers hardness was recorded, when substrate bias was reduced from -150 V to zero. Scratch tester was used to compare the critical loads for coatings deposited at different bias voltages and the adhesion achievable was demonstrated with relevance to the various modes, scratch macroscopic analysis, critical load, acoustic emission and penetration depth. A considerable improvement in TiN coatings was observed as a function of various substrate bias voltages.

In the present study, the effect of various N₂ gas flow rates on friction coefficient and surface roughness of TiN-coated D2 tool steel was examined by a commercially available cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (CAPVD) technique. A Pin-on-Disc test was carried out to study the Coefficient of friction (COF) versus sliding distance. A surface roughness tester measured the surface roughness parameters. The minimum values for the COF and surface roughness were recorded at a N₂ gas flow rate of 200 sccm. The increase in the COF and surface roughness at a N₂ gas flow rate of 100 sccm was mainly attributed to an increase in both size and number of titanium particles, whereas the increase at 300 sccm was attributed to a larger number of growth defects generated during the coating process. These ideas make it possible to optimize the coating properties as a function of N₂ gas flow rate for specific applications, e.g. cutting tools for automobiles, aircraft, and various mechanical parts.

Cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (CAPVD) a technique used for the deposition of hard coatings for tooling applications has many advantages. The main drawback of this technique is the formation of macrodroplets (MDs) during deposition resulting in films with rougher morphology. The MDs contamination and growth mechanisms was investigated in TiN coatings over high-speed steel, as a function of metal ion etching, substrate bias, and nitrogen gas flow rate; it was observed that the latter is the most important factor in controlling the size and number of the macrodroplets.