Lukáš Vrána¹, Matej Fekete¹, Zsolt Czigány², Katalin Balázsi², Pavel Souček^1
1Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
²HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Budapest, Hungary
High-entropy alloy coatings consist of at least five elements, each in concentrations of 5-35 at.%. Their derivatives, high entropy nitride coatings, tend to form simple FCC or BCC solid solution structures. However, whether these structures form is determined not only by the constituent elements but also by deposition parameters, which influence the energies of particles forming the coating. Magnetron sputtering is an ideal deposition technique, as these energies can be easily experimentally controlled by applied power, deposition pressure, and deposition temperature. Our study aims to investigate Cr-Mn-Mo-Si-Y-(N) high entropy alloy and nitride coatings, combining strong and weak nitride-forming elements with those that introduce large lattice distortion into the system. The coatings are synthesized by DC magnetron sputtering from alloyed and elemental targets. The role of individual elements on phase structure and mechanical properties is investigated by analyzing not only equimolar coatings but also coatings with a wide range of compositions deposited at both ambient and high temperatures under varying nitrogen partial pressure. Emphasis is placed on understanding the influence of Mn content, the weakest constituent metallic nitride former, and Y, which has the lowest nitride formation enthalpy among the constituent metals and forms strong bonds with nitrogen.