The role of interfaces and morphology on silver diffusion in hard coatings

One of the main approaches to increase the tool lifetime during dry machining of “hard-to-machine” aerospace alloys is self-lubrication by the incorporation of noble metals in hard matrixes with good mechanical and diffusion barrier properties. In this paper, the diffusion of an Ag-rich layer sandwiched between two layers of either TiN or TiSiN is studied by transmission electron microscopy and in situ Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The layer stacks were subjected to annealing treatments at 600 ºC and 800 ºC for 2 hours. Three processes were found to control the diffusion of silver: the morphology of the “sandwich” layers, the formation of small voids in the involved interfaces and the sublimation of Ag in the surface at temperatures near the melting point. The study revealed that the dense TiSiN matrix allowed a significantly better control of Ag diffusion than the more open TiN matrix.