Characterization of α-Al2O3 coatings deposited by reactive evaporation in an anodic arc under high-current ion assistance

Abstract

The article presents the results of studies of the mechanical and adhesive characteristics of α-Al2O3 coatings depositeedby reactive anodic evaporation of Al in an arc discharge at low-energy (50 eV) high-current (up to 15 mA•cm-2) ion assistance at 640?C. The coatings are characterized by a strong texture (300), which contributes to an increase in adhesive strength (the critical load at which the destruction of the coating is observed reaches 2560?29 mN). It was shown that there is an optimal discharge current (20 A), at which the best adhesion, the surface quality (Ra = 13.4 nm, Rz = 44.7 nm) and the resistance of elastic deformation of coatings (H/E = 0.08) are achieved. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.