The Structures and Properties of the TaN Coatings Deposited by the Reaction Magnetron Sputtering

In this paper the compositions,microstructures and properties of the TaN thin films at different nitrogen pressures have been investigated by using magnetron sputtering technique.The results showed that the coatings were composed of a mixtures of β-Ta and δ-TaN at a nitrogen pressure of 0.2×10 -1 Pa.Whereas coatings deposited at 0.4×10 -1 ～0.8×10 -1 Pa nitrogen pressures had a single-phase hexagonal TaN structure.The microhardness values decreased with the increase of nitrogen pressure.The hardness values reached a maximum at a nitrogen pressure of 0.2×10 -1 Pa,which were related to the two phase structures and high compress stress of the coatings.