Microstructural and wear properties of sputtered carbides and silicides

Sputtered Cr₃C₂, Cr₃Si₂ and MoSi₂ wear-resistant films (0.05–3.5 μm thick) were deposited on metal and glass surfaces. Electron transmission, electron diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the microstructural appearance. Strong adherence was obtained with these sputtered films. Internal stresses and defect crystallographic growth structures of various configurations within the film have progressively more undesirable effects for film thicknesses greater than 1.5 μm. Sliding contact and rolling element bearing tests were performed with these sputtered films. Bearings sputtered with a duplex coating (a 0.1 μm thick undercoating of Cr₃Si₂ and subsequently a 0.6 μm coating of MoS₂) produced marked improvement (more than 10.5 × 10⁷ cycles) over straight MoS₂ films.