Structure, composition and microhardness of (Ti,Zr)N and (Ti,AI)N coatings prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

The composition, structure and microhardness of (Ti,Zr)N and (Ti,Al)N thin films deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering technique have been studied. The films were synthesized with a single magnetron source by co-sputtering route using constituent elemental targets under different conditions of nitrogen gas flow and substrate bias. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated the formation of fcc (Ti,Zr)N and (Ti,AI)N phases. The atomic composition of films, determined by backscattering techniques, varied with deposition conditions. The microhardness of the films estimated by J-H model is closely related to the atomic composition of the films, particularly to their nitrogen content. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.