Cathodic arc deposition of titanium nitride coatings on commercial steels

Titanium nitride coatings have;been deposited using cathodic are physical vapor deposition technique on the commercially available steels. Effect of nitrogen partial pressure was studied keeping bias voltage, are current and deposition time constant Phases formed during coating were identified by x-ray diffraction. Microhardness was also determined using Vickers microhardness tester The study revealed that only Ti2N was formed as a function of nitrogen partial pressure. The enhancement in hardness was found to be dependent on substrate material The deposited coatings exhibited variation in colors (from light golden yellow to greenish golden yellow) which were attribute to the nitrogen partial pressure and the substrate material. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.