Helicon-Arc Ion-Plasma Synthesis of AlN-Based Film Coatings on the Steel 3 and Aluminium Substrates

Using a hybrid helicon-arc ion-plasma reactor, a coating based on aluminium nitride (AlN) is deposited on the steel 3 and aluminium substrates.Regardless of the substrate, it is found that a coating with a thickness of ≅ 2.0 µm is formed during 30 minutes of deposition; increasing the process time to 45 minutes allows to obtain a coating two and a half times thicker (≅ 5 µm).As determined, the selected deposition time does not allow obtaining a coating of stoichiometric composition of AlN on the substrates used.As a rule, a compound with Al excess is formed.As shown, in cases where a plastic material (for example, aluminium) is used as a substrate, the formation of the coating can only be the last technological operation.