Abstract
The (TiVCr)N coatings were deposited on Si substrate via rf magnetron sputtering of a TiVCr alloy target under dc bias in a N 2 /Ar atmosphere. The deposition rate of the coatings gradually decreased with increasing N 2 -to-total (N 2 + Ar) flow ratio, R N . The TiVCr alloy and its nitride coatings exhibited a body-centered cubic (BCC) and a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure, respectively. The preferred orientation of the (TiVCr)N coatings changed from (1 1 1) to (2 0 0) with increasing R N . In addition, the microstructure of the nitride coatings was also converted from a columnar structure with void boundaries and rough-faceted surface to a very dense structure with a smooth-domed surface. The grain size of the (TiVCr)N coatings decreased as the R N was increased. Accordingly, the hardness of the (TiVCr)N coatings was enhanced from 4.06 to 18.74 GPa as the R N was increased. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.