Nanoindentation study on nanomechanical characteristics of a-CN film deposited by shielded arc ion plating

Mechanical properties of the a-CN films including elastic modulus (E-r), hardness (H), elastic recovery (R), contact stiffness (S) and deformation energies were measured by a nanoindentation system. We also evaluated wear resistant behavior of the layered a-CN films in nanometer scale by the same nanoindentation system. All the a-CN films, irrespective of V-b, showed better wear-resistance characteristics than sapphire and quartz. The a-CN (-300 V)/Si sample showed the best wear-resistance, although its hardness was lower than the a-CN (-300 V)/a-C (-100 V)/Si. The wear resistant characteristic of the films can be understood by considering the other mechanical properties including that of R, hardness-to-elastic modulus ratio (H/E-r), and elastic deformation energy (W-e) obtained from the nanoindentation. These various nanomechanical properties certainly govern the wear-resistance of the film. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.