STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF MULTICOMPONENT NITRIDE COATINGS OBTAINED BY VACUUM-ARC DEPOSITION

Abstract

Using innovative vacuum arc deposition technology we have produced multi-component nitride coatings. Systematic studies show that the chemical composition, microstructure and properties of the coatings are closely related to the deposition parameters such as, working gas pressure and bias potential). The effect of chromium and silicon elements on the microstructure and mechanical properties of nitride coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive microanalysis (EDS) attachment, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), hardness meters and adhesion tests. Initial zone structure calculations and the Gibbs-Rosenbaum triangular representation were used to investigate the elemental and phase composition of nitride coatings. It is determined that multicomponent nitride coatings consist of a simple face-centred cubic solid solution (HCC) phase. For silicon-free coatings, the structure mainly consists of the TiN (HCC) phase and the trigonal modification Cr₂N. The hardness values were in the range (24-42 GPa). The N-ZrTiNb and N-ZrTiNb-Cr coatings provide the best adhesion strength under various friction conditions. The N-ZrTiNb-CrSi coatings showed the worst adhesion strength, which can be explained by the relative low hardness.