Annealing effect on mechanical properties of Ta–Mo sputtered coatings

The annealing parameters play a vital role in determining and understanding the microstructures and mechanical properties of Ta–Mo nanostructured coatings in the annealing processes. This investigation aims at finding the best annealing parameters and predicting the behaviour of the annealing parameters during the preparation of Ta–Mo coatings by cosputtering deposition. This study reveals that phase transformation and grain growth of the coatings were strongly dependent on the annealing processes. Low temperature annealing process within 600°C can increase the hardness H and elastic modulus E due to the increased grain size and decreased crystal defect. However, severe oxidation occurred in the coatings by the high temperature annealing process that exceeded 700°C. Finally, a three stage model related to the low and high temperature annealing mechanisms of Ta–Mo coating was proposed.