Characterization and properties Ti–Al–Si–N nanocomposite coatings prepared by middle frequency magnetron sputtering

TiN-containing amorphous Ti–Al–Si–N (nc–TiN/a–Si3N4 or a–AlN) nanocomposite coatings were deposited by using a modified closed field twin unbalanced magnetron sputtering system which is arc assisted and consists of two circles of targets, at a substrate temperature of 300 °C. XRD, XPS and High-resolution TEM experiments showed that the coatings contain TiN nanocrystals embedded in the amorphous Si3N4 or AlN matrix. The coatings exhibit good mechanical properties that are greatly influenced by the Si contents. The hardness of the Ti–Al–Si–N coatings deposited at Si targets currents of 5, 8, 10, and 12 A were 45, 47, 54 and 46 GPa, respectively. The high hardness of the deposited Ti–Al–Si–N coatings may be own to the plastic distortion and dislocation blocking by the nanocrystalline structure. On the other hand, the friction coefficient decreases monotonously with increasing Si contents. This result would be caused by tribo-chemical reactions, which often take place in many ceramics, e.g. Si3N4 reacts with H2O to produce SiO2 or Si(OH)2 tribolay-layer.