The structure and composition of Al-Si-N/Ni/Al-Si-N three-layer coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering

The treatise studies the composition and structure of layers composing the multilayer Al-Si-N/Ni/Al-Si-N coatings produced by magnetron sputtering. The results confirm the columnar crystal structure in all the layers, with Al-Si-N layer having a nanocrystalline structure, and the nickel layer having a monocrystalline structure. The XRD analysis revealed an AlN phase with hexagonal close-packed lattice together with Si3N4 phase in the Al-Si-N layer, which was confirmed by the interpretation of microdiffraction images obtained by a transmission electron microscope.