Characterization of the ion-plated TiN on AISI 304 stainless steel by energy filtering transmission electron microscopy

[[abstract]]The microstructure and chemistry of TiN on AISI 304 stainless steel is characterized using filtering transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with an electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) detector. It is shown that the microstructure of the ion-plate-TiN coatings is thickness dependent. The as-prepared TiN films have a grain size ranging from 88 nm at the coating surface down to 9 nm near the TiN/steel interface. A slightly textured microstructure is observed for the surface layer TiN. Analyzed by EELs, it is obtained that the relative oxygen content increases linearly from the TiN surface to the TiN/steel interface, whereas the relative nitrogen content first decreases slowly and then drops rapidly near the interface. The presence of Ti2N, along with deficiency in nitrogen near the interface, suggests that TiN produced in early deposition may be nonstoichiometric.[[fileno]]2060134010018[[department]]工程與系統科學