Experimental study on Ti N coated racetrack-type ceramic pipe

Ti N film was coated on the internal surface of a racetrack-type ceramic pipe by three different methods:radio-frequency sputtering, DC sputtering and DC magnetron sputtering. The deposition rates of Ti N film under different coating methods were compared. The highest deposition rate was 156 nm/h, which was obtained by magnetron sputtering coating. Based on AFM, SEM and XPS test results, the properties of Ti N film, such as film roughness and surface morphology, were analyzed. Furthermore, the deposition rates were studied with two different cathode types, Ti wires and Ti plate. According to the SEM test results, the deposition rate of Ti N/Ti film was about 800 nm/h with Ti plate cathode by DC magnetron sputtering. Using Ti plate cathode rather than Ti wire cathode can greatly improve the film deposition rate.