Effect of Low Temperature Nitriding of 100Cr6 Substrates on TiN Coatings Deposited by IBAD

In this paper we studied the influence of pre-treating the surface of 100Cr6 steel by ion beam nitriding at low temperature (380°C) on the surface topography and wear resistance of thin TiN coatings deposited by reactive ion beam assisted deposition. The specimens were characterized by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The wear resistance of the TiN-coated specimens was evaluated by means of ball on disc tests. The results showed that application of a preliminary ion beam nitriding treatment slightly increased the surface roughness ...