MODIFICATION OF CR2N COATINGS ON AL-3WT-PERCENT-MG SUBSTRATES BY XENON IRRADIATION

The surface and interface modifications of magnetron-sputtered Cr2N films on Al-3wt.% Mg substrates after xenon irradiation were investigated by means of the ion beam analysis techniques of Rutherford-backscattering spectrometry and resonant nuclear reaction analysis. The sputtering of the surface can be reproduced by the Sigmund model within 30%, but a slight deviation from the linear dependence on the nuclear stopping power S(n) was observed. The mixing rates k depend strongly on the thickness-to-range ratio d/R(p) and cannot be described by the standard ion-mixing models. Interface mixing was observed even if no primary ion had been transmitted through the layer, pointing to a transport of the nuclear energy loss F(D) of the ion into deeper regions of the sample by primary and secondary recoils. No difference in the mixing behaviour of chromium and nitrogen was found.