Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti–Si–C–N coatings deposited by hybrid arc enhanced magnetron sputtering

Abstract Quaternary Ti–Si–C–N coatings have been deposited on high speed steel substrates using a new hybrid arc enhanced magnetron sputtering (AEMS) technique conducted at low temperature. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the deposited Ti–Si–C–N coatings are investigated and the results show that the Ti–Si–C–N coatings have a nanocomposite microstructure consisting of nanosized TiN and TiC crystallites embedded in an amorphous phase of Si3N4/C. The hardness of the Ti–Si–C–N coatings increases linearly from 20 to 35 GPa with carbon incorporation up to 35 at.-% and the friction coefficient is below 0·25 which is smaller than that of ternary Ti–Si–N nanocomposite coatings.