Oxidation behavior of TieBeCeN coatings deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

Quaternary TieBeCeN coatings with different carbon concentrations are deposited on high-speed steel substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering. The oxidation behavior between 300 and 800 � C under ambient conditions is studied by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Vickers micro-hardness, and X-ray diffraction. The TieBeCeN coatings with smaller carbon contents have better oxidation resistance and the oxidation process can be divided into two stages: lowspeed oxidation below 700 � C and high-speed oxidation above 700 � C. An oxidation mechanism is proposed to explain the relationship between the reaction with oxygen and observed oxidation behavior. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.