{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,4]],"date-time":"2026-08-04T06:55:43Z","timestamp":1785826543054,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,5]],"date-time":"2025-04-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743811200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan","award":["NSC 113-2221-E-005-009-MY3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NSC 113-2221-E-005-009-MY3"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>AlCrN and AlCrSiN coatings were deposited via reactive magnetron sputtering. This study investigates the effects of radio frequency (RF) substrate bias, ranging from 0 V to 200 V, on the chemical composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the coatings. All crystalline coatings exhibited a single wurtzite-type hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure. At a 0 V substrate bias, the AlCrN coating consisted of porous V-shaped columnar crystallites, while the AlCrSiN coating exhibited a porous, fiber-like amorphous structure. As the substrate bias increased, crystal growth was promoted, void density decreased, and the surface morphology transitioned from a textured to a more rounded appearance. Additionally, the preferred orientation shifted toward the (101) direction. However, at excessively high substrate bias, re-nucleation occurred, leading to grain refinement and increased film densification, which in turn caused a further shift in the preferred orientation toward the (002) plane. Due to its multi-element composition and the low solubility of Si in nitrides, AlCrSiN coatings tend to exhibit an amorphous growth tendency during sputtering. As a result, their microstructure is more sensitive to substrate bias. This sensitivity results in the formation of a highly dense structure with an optimal crystallite size at a substrate bias of 100 V, leading to a hardness of 22.6 GPa\u2014surpassing that of the AlCrN coating.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma18071671","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,7]],"date-time":"2025-04-07T03:23:07Z","timestamp":1743996187000},"page":"1671","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Substrate Bias-Driven Structural and Mechanical Evolution of AlCrN and AlCrSiN Coatings via Reactive Magnetron Sputtering"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4417-2851","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Du-Cheng","family":"Tsai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402202, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rong-Hsin","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical Engineering, Da-Yeh University, Changhua 51591, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zue-Chin","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 411030, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erh-Chiang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402202, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yen-Lin","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Metal Industries Research and Development Centre, Kaohsiung 811225, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fuh-Sheng","family":"Shieu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402202, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S128","DOI":"10.1134\/S1027451023070157","article-title":"Oxidation Resistance of TiAlN Coatings Deposited by Dual High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering","volume":"17","author":"Grenadyorov","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. 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