BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CHROMIUM NITRIDE FILMS BY DYNAMIC ION-BEAM MIXING

Chromium nitride films were deposited on steel substrates by chromium evaporation and simultaneous irradiation with a nitrogen ion beam, with the Cr/N atom arrival ratio between 1/2 and 2/1, and the acceleration voltage of ions between 10 and 30 kV. Glow discharge spectroscopy analyses show that the Cr/N ratio of the films increases with increasing acceleration voltage, as well as increased Cr/N arrival ratio. With X-ray diffraction analyses, CrN crystal has been detected in the nitrogen-rich films. As the Cr/N ratio increases, C2N crystal appears and gradually increases at the expense of CrN. Micro-Vickers hardness measurements show that films with higher Cr/N ratio have lower hardness. Although the friction coefficient of films with AISI 52100 steel pin does not decrease much, the wear amount significantly decreases compared to untreated AISI 52100 steel substrates.