Abstract
In this work, the influence of Ar/N₂gas medium composition on the formation and properties of CrN coatings deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering on E110 zirconium alloy substrates has been investigated. It is shown that with increasing fraction of N₂, a denser columnar structure is formed and the thickness increases (~1.18→ 1.58→ 1.95 μm). X-ray phase analysis confirms the presence of δ-CrN without noticeable Cr₂N/Cr impurities. The roughness decreases monotonically (Ra 0.166→ 0.150→ 0.114 μm) while the microhardness increases (HV 3.82→ 7.45→ 12.36 GPa). According to the polarization curves, sample 80/40 shows minimal i(corr) , and r(corr) (1.73-10-⁶ A-cm-² and 0.0024 mm-yr-¹), which is attributed to the greater thickness, density, and homogeneity of the layer. The obtained dependences are consistent with each other and indicate that the increase in partial pressure N₂ is an effective tool for controlling the structural-phase state and performance characteristics of CrN coatings.