Modification of TiNx Coatings in the Course of Deposition by Periodic Electron Beam Stimulation of N2/Ar Medium

Single and multilayer coatings were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering of Ti in the range of reaction gas flow rate 0-16 sccm under continuous or pulse-periodic exposure of N
₂
-Ar working medium (~0.1-0.25 Pa) by the low-energy electron beam (100 eV, 10-25 A). Increase of the degree of dissociation of molecular nitrogen and reduction of the minimum gas flow at which stoichiometric titanium nitride formed both are achieved by creating oscillation conditions of injected electrons in the working chamber. The ion current density was up to 15 mA/cm
²
. The structure, phase composition, properties of one-layer (hexagonal TiN0.3 and cubic TiN titanium nitrides) and hardness (11 and 23 GPa, correspondingly) and multilayer coatings of variable composition with an adjustable layer thickness (5-100 nm) with total thickness up to 5 μn were studied.