Abstract
Films of CrAlN and CrZrN were deposited on a steel substrate by closed field unbalanced magnetron sputtering, and their oxidation behaviors were investigated. CrAlN films consisted of dense, polycrystalline CrN and AlN fine columns. The formed oxides consisted primarily of crystalline $Cr_2O_3$ incorporated with $Al_2O_3$. The oxide layers were thin and compact so as to make CrAlN films more protective than CrN films. In case of CrZrN films, Zr atoms were dissolved in the CrN phase. Zr atoms advantageously refined the columnar structure, reduced the surface roughness, and increased the micro-hardness. However, the addition of Zr did not increased oxidation resistance, mainly because Zr was not a protective element. All the deposited films displayed relatively good oxidation resistance, owing to the formation of the highly protective $Cr_2O_3$ on their surface. The $Cr_{40}Zr_9N$ and $Cr_{31}Zr_{16}N$ films oxidized to $Cr_2O_3$ as the major phase and ${\alpha}-ZrO_2$ as the minor one, whereas the CrN film oxidized to $Cr_2O_3$.
