AN EMPIRICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NITROGEN DEPOSITION PRESSURE AND HARDNESS OF MAGNETRON CO-SPUTTERED TERNARY NITRIDE COATINGS

An empirical equation of the hardness of ternary nitride coatings and the nitrogen deposition pressure was formulated in the present study. A linear relationship was established between the coating hardness and the reciprocal of the square root of nitrogen pressure. The primary sputter yield of the coating materials was found to contain a linear relationship with the minimum hardness value, H 0 , of the empirical equation but showed no effect on the rate of hardness increase, mH. With defined discharge conditions and sputter yields of the target materials, the values of mH and Ho can be calculated and the hardness of a coating produced at a specified nitrogen deposition pressure can be theoretically detennined.