Stability of the nitrogen-deficient Ti2AlN x MAX phase in Ar2+-irradiated (Ti,Al)N/Ti2AlN x multilayers

M. Bugnet (1) , T. Cabioc’h (1) , V. Mauchamp (1) , Ph. Guerin (1) , M. Marteau (1) , M. Jaouen (1)

1 PPrime [Poitiers] - Institut Pprime [UPR 3346]

The effects of 100 keV Ar2+ ion irradiation on the structure and stability of multilayered dc sputtered and annealed thin films of (Ti,Al)N/Ti2AlN x have been investigated with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that the multilayer structure is preserved as well as the crystalline structures of both components. This demonstrates a high tolerance of the Ti2AlN x MAX phase in multilayers to damage induced by nuclear elastic interactions. It is suggested that damage recovery may originate from native nitrogen vacancies and from the interfaces that act as sinks for point defects, like Frenkel pairs, created during the irradiation.

Mots clés: High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy; Nuclear Elastic Collision; Nitrogen Atomic Ratio; Frenkel Pair; Multilayer Structure

Domaines: Matériaux

M. Bugnet, T. Cabioc’h, V. Mauchamp, Ph. Guerin, M. Marteau, et al.. Stability of the nitrogen-deficient Ti2AlN x MAX phase in Ar2+-irradiated (Ti,Al)N/Ti2AlN x multilayers. Journal of Materials Science, 2010, 45 (20), pp.5547-5552. ⟨10.1007/s10853-010-4615-0⟩. ⟨hal-01973269⟩