Ion-induced changes in the structure and phase composition of nanocrystalline TiZrSiN coatings formed via magnetron sputtering

The influence of ion irradiation (180-keV Xe²⁺ and doses of 1 × 10¹⁶ and 5 × 10¹⁶ cm^–2) on the structure and phase composition of thin (300 nm) nanocrystalline (Ti,Zr)_1–xSi_xN_y films deposited via reactive magnetron sputtering (Si content x ≤ 0.22) is investigated. It is found that an increase in the Si concentration of the coating stimulates successive structure conversions from nanocrystalline (x < 0.07; grain size is about 18 nm) to nanocomposite (0.07 ≤ x ≤ 0.11; grain size is about 8 nm) and amorphous (x ≥ 0.18) states. The phase composition of the coatings varies from diphase (c-(Ti,Zr)N + a-TiSiN_x) to amorphous (a-TiZrSiN). The nanocomposite coating consists of c-(Ti,Zr)N solid-solution grains (their size is ~8 nm) surrounded by an amorphous a-TiSiN matrix. Ion irradiation exerts no influence on the structural-phase state of the nanocrystalline and amorphous films. The diffraction peaks of the (Ti,Zr)N solid solution is revealed to be split because a double-layer structure is formed. This is associated with Xe-ion implantation into the coating. (Ti,Zr)N solid-solution grains are found to crystallize if amorphous coatings (0.18 ≤–≤ 0.22) are irradiated with xenon ions.