Influences of nitrogen flow rate on the structures and properties of Ti and N co-doped diamond-like carbon films deposited by arc ion plating

In this paper, Ti-C-N nanocomposite films are deposited under different nitrogen flow rates by pulsed bias arc ion plating using Ti and graphite targets in the Ar/N₂ mixture gas. The surface morphologies, compositions, microstructures, and mechanical properties of the Ti-C-N films are investigated systematically by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), grazing incident x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), Raman spectra, and nano-indentation. The results show that the nanocrystalline Ti(C,N) phase precipitates in the film from GIXRD and XPS analysis, and Raman spectra prove the presence of diamond-like carbon, indicating the formation of nanocomposite film with microstructures comprising nanocrystalline Ti(C,N) phase embedded into a diamond-like matrix. The nitrogen flow rate has a significant effect on the composition, structure, and properties of the film. The nano-hardness and elastic modulus first increase and then decrease as nitrogen flow rate increases, reaching a maximum of 34.3 GPa and 383.2 GPa, at a nitrogen flow rate of 90 sccm, respectively.