Synthesis and characterization of quaternary Ti–Si–C–N coatings prepared by a hybrid deposition technique

Quaternary Ti–Si–C–N coatings have been deposited on WC–Co substrates by a hybrid system combining the arc ion plating (AIP) and sputtering techniques using Ti and Si targets in an Ar/N2/CH4 gaseous mixture. Ti–Si–C–N coatings with a Si content of 8.9 at.% had a fine composite microstructure comprising nano-sized crystallites of Ti(C,N) surrounded by amorphous phase of Si3N4/SiC mixture. The micro-hardness value of the Ti–Si–C–N coatings under a load of 25 g was ∼55 GPa, i.e., much larger than ∼30 GPa for Ti–C–N coatings. In addition, the average friction coefficient of the Ti–Si–C–N coatings largely decreased with increasing Si content. In this work, the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti–Si–C–N coatings were systematically investigated using instrumental analyses.