Microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of TiN/Ni nanomultilayered films

Nanomultilayered TiN/Ni thin films with different bilayer periods (57.8–99.7 nm) and Ni single-layer thickness (3.9–19.2 nm) were prepared by alternatively sputtering Ti and Ni targets in N 2 gas atmosphere. The microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of the multilayer films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nanoindenter and electrochemical technologies. The multilayer films are fine with a mean grain size of 8–9 nm independent of the bilayer period. However, the smoothness and compactness seem to decrease with the bilayer period increasing. The hardness ( H ) and elastic modulus ( E ) of the multilayer films gradually decrease as the bilayer period increases, and the multilayer film with bilayer period of 57.8 nm exhibits higher H , ratios of (H/E^* and H^3 /E^*2 ) ( E^* is effective Young’s modulus) than the monolithic TiN film and the other multilayers. The multilayer films exhibit an obvious passivation phenomenon in 10