Influence of the High-Temperature Annealing on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Vacuum–Arc Coatings from Mo/(Ti + 6 wt % Si)N

Abstract

Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive element microanalysis, X-ray structural analysis, and microindentation were used to study the effect of the deposition conditions in a reactive nitrogen atmosphere on the growth morphology, phase composition, structure, and microhardness of vacuum–arc multilayer coatings produced by the evaporation of cathodes from Mo and (Ti + 6 wt % Si) both after their deposition and after high?temperature annealing. It has been established that the use of the composite cathode of Ti and Si allows the formation of the structure state inclined to ordering to form a two-phase compound from TiN and Ti5Si3 at high-temperature annealing. In this case the coating hard? ness increases to a value higher than 45 GPa.