An OES-feedback-controlled HiPIMS approach for controlling the deposition of (AlCrTiVZr)1-xNx high-entropy nitride coatings

IF 6.6 2区材料科学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

Applied Surface Science Pub Date : 2026-09-21 DOI:10.1016/j.apsusc.2026.168469

Yue Wang, Weihao Jiang, Chengcan Li, Yuanbo Li, Yuan Xia, Guodong Li, Yi Xu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

A closed-loop deposition system based on high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) combined with optical emission spectroscopy (OES) feedback control is proposed for the synthesis of (AlCrTiVZr)1-xNx coatings. To control the plasma state, the OES feedback control system adjusts the N2 flow rate in real time, stabilizing the Cr optical emission intensity (520.8 nm) at setpoints (20%-60%) defined by relative Cr optical emission intensity based on hysteresis. Decreasing the OES setpoint increases discharge current and substrate bias current, commonly enhancing plasma density and the ion bombardment characteristic of HiPIMS. The coatings exhibit compositional stability along the growth direction, reaching an overstoichiometric state at 20% setpoint with a deposition rate of 40.1 nm/min. The microstructure evolves from a fully amorphous structure (100–40% setpoints) to a self-organized bilayer structure (30–20%), which consists of an amorphous bottom layer and a top nanocrystalline/amorphous nanocomposite layer, with the nanocrystalline phase exhibiting a single NaCl-type FCC structure. Furthermore, reducing the setpoint from 30% to 20% thickens the top layer, increases crystallinity, and promotes grain growth from 2.9 nm to 5.5 nm. Meanwhile, the hardness and toughness show significant improvement as the setpoint decreases, peaking at 36.2 GPa (H) and 0.113 (H/E) at the setpoint of 20%.

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（AlCrTiVZr）1-xNx高熵氮化物涂层沉积的oes反馈控制HiPIMS方法

提出了一种基于高功率脉冲磁控溅射（HiPIMS）与光学发射光谱（OES）反馈控制相结合的闭环沉积系统，用于合成（AlCrTiVZr）1-xNx涂层。为了控制等离子体状态，OES反馈控制系统实时调节N2流量，将Cr光发射强度稳定在基于磁滞的相对Cr光发射强度定义的设定值（20% ~ 60%）上（520.8 nm）。降低OES设定值会增加放电电流和衬底偏置电流，通常会增强等离子体密度和HiPIMS的离子轰击特性。涂层沿生长方向表现出稳定的成分，在20%设定值时达到过化学计量态，沉积速率为40.1 nm/min。微观结构由完全非晶结构（设定点100-40%）演变为自组织双层结构（设定点30-20%），由非晶底层和顶部纳米晶/非晶纳米复合层组成，其中纳米晶相呈现单一nacl型FCC结构。此外，将设定值从30%降低到20%，使顶层增厚，结晶度增加，并促进晶粒从2.9 nm生长到5.5 nm。同时，硬度和韧性随设定值的减小而显著提高，在设定值为20%时达到峰值36.2 GPa (H)和0.113 （H/E）。

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来源期刊

Applied Surface Science 工程技术-材料科学：膜

CiteScore

12.50

自引率

7.50%

发文量

3393

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： Applied Surface Science covers topics contributing to a better understanding of surfaces, interfaces, nanostructures and their applications. The journal is concerned with scientific research on the atomic and molecular level of material properties determined with specific surface analytical techniques and/or computational methods, as well as the processing of such structures.