EFFECT OF SUBSTRATE BIAS VOLTAGE ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CrN COATINGS

CrN films were deposited on stainless steel and silicon substrates via magnetron reactive sputtering under a systematic variation of the substrate bias voltage. The influence of this substrate bias voltage on the structural and tribological properties of the films has been investigated. The results indicate that increasing the negative bias voltage has a large influence on the characteristic of the coatings: concerning their microstructure, we observed that the grain size increased. Moreover their coefficient of friction and wear rate are also influenced by the bias voltage.