High power impulse magnetron sputtering Mo-N coatings deposition on temperature sensitive substrates

In industrial field, advanced technological solutions to protect structural materials against oxidation and wear phenomena is increasingly demanded. Hard protective coatings represent a suitable resource to achieve these purposes. Physical Vapor Deposition techniques are extensively used to deposit transition metal nitride films. However, they usually require rather elevated deposition temperatures to accomplish desired performance, becoming incompatible with sensitive substrates like Al alloys (e.g. silicon cast alloys pistons for high-speed engines). High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering technology allowed obtaining high quality Mo-N coatings at low temperature on a soft Al-Si alloy, proving to be an enabling technology for coupling apparently incompatible materials. Produced films exhibited good adhesion, noteworthy mechanical characteristics (hardness >= 22 GPa) and notable tribological properties.