Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy of TiN and Ti-TiN coatings on AISI 304 stainless steel

The formation of a TiN or Ti-TiN PVD coating on austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 substrates has been studied by means of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). Three types of specimens were studied. Three different depositions have been used, which are classified as follows: Type 1 is the coating system AISI 304-Ti-TiN, type 2 is the coating system AISI 304-TiN (new way of deposition, with the substrate masked from the plasma during the initial stage of deposition) and finally type 3 is the system AISI 304-TiN (conventional way of deposition). The XTEM study was carried out using a Philips CM 12 microscope, operating at 120 kV, and equipped with an EDAX energy dispersive X ray analyser with a Be window.