Structural Engineering of the Vacuum Arc ZrN/CrN Multilayer Coatings

For multilayer system ZrN/CrN with a large difference in the atomic weights and radiation-induced defect formation of metal components, analyzed the influence of the layer thickness (in the nanometer range) and supplied during the deposition negative bias potential (-U-s) on the structure and hardness of the composite vacuum arc coating. It was established that at the layer thickness less than 50 nm supply -U-s leads to an increase of microstrain in the CrN layers under bombardment by ions of Zr with a large atomic radius and the mass, and the strain relaxation is observed in layers of ZrN. The observed effects are explained by an increase in energy deposited ionized particles when applying -U-s, which determines the radiation-induced mixing at interphase boundaries of layers and leads to a fall hardness. The highest hardness 42 GPa in the ZrN/CrN system is achieved upon deposition of thin (20 nm) layers in the absence of -U-s.