Effect of magnetron sputtering process parameters on crn films on 304 stainless steel and their corrosion behavior

CrN films on 304 stainless steel were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The effect of N₂ partial pressure, sputtering power and inclusion quantity of the steel on the structure, composition and corrosion resistance of the prepared films was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the increase of nitrogen partial pressure is beneficial to the increment of CrN-phase content for the CrN film, while which presents obviously the preferential orientations of the crystal planes (111) and (200) of CrN-phase. Reducing the sputtering power is beneficial to generate the increased amount of Cr to participate in the reaction with nitrogen and thus generate more CrN. The amount of inclusions on the steel surface has significant influence on the quality of films, and the inclusions sites are not conducive to the integrity of the prepared CrN films, which, correspondingly, results in significant degradation of corrosion resistance for the prepared CrN films.