Mechanical properties of Ti–B–C–N coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering

Abstract This work investigated structure, mechanical properties and tribological performance of the Ti–B–C–N thin films deposited using RF magnetron sputtering in different argon–nitrogen atmospheres from a TiB2–TiC composite target synthesized by a one-step SHS-consolidation technique. Quasi-amorphous nano-composite films were deposited using RF power density of 11.2 W/cm2 and a substrate bias of −50 V. In this paper, the mechanical properties of the composite films, including nanohardness, Young's modulus, film adhesion and residual stress, are presented together with their tribological behavior. The best properties and performance were achieved by depositing the film with a 50-nm-thick titanium interlayer and using a substrate bias of 50 V. The nitrogen content in the deposition atmosphere changed the film properties and performance slightly. The Ti–B–C film and the Ti–B–C–N film deposited in an argon–nitrogen atmosphere with 10% nitrogen exhibited the best adhesion to substrate, lowest residual stress, and best tribological performance. In general, these Ti–B–C–N thin films appear to be a promising composite film system suitable for engineering wear applications.