Microstructure and tribological properties of Cu–Zn/TiN multilayers fabricated by dual magnetron sputtering

Metal/nitride multilayers have attracted much interest due to their superior features such as high hardness and good wear resistance. In this work, the microstructure and tribological properties of Cu–Zn/TiN multilayers with nm and sub-μm bilayer periods fabricated by magnetron sputtering are investigated. Delamination occurs when the individual TiN layers are too thin and the Cu–Zn sublayers are thick. Cu (111) and TiN (002) growth orientation have been found in the multilayers. The wear results show that Cu–Zn/TiN multilayers can offer good wear resistance. The wear resistance is improved with larger Cu–Zn content and bilayer periods. When the tCu–Zn:tTiN ratios are 6:1, the wear resistance of the multilayers is improved significantly with increasing the periods and the film shows longer punch through time than that with tCu–Zn:tTiN ratios of about 1:1. The hardness of multilayers is better than that of the steel substrate, but little influence has been found on the hardness with changing the tCu–Zn:tTiN ratios or the bilayer periods.