LAUSR

Abstract TiN-Cu Nanocomposite coatings with different Cu contents were prepared by co-deposition in a hollow cathode discharge ion plating system. The influence of Cu content in the range of 2–7 at.% on the microstructure, morphology and mechanical properties of the deposited films were investigated. Structural properties of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD). The composition and morphology of the coatings were characterized using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation were used to study topography and mechanical properties of deposited films, respectively. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis was performed to study the surface chemical bonding states. It was found that Cu and TiN phases grew separately and formation of Cu-N bond or Ti-Cu-N ternary phase was not detected in this study. Moreover, it was shown that addition of the soft Cu phase to TiN film above 2 at.% drastically decreased the film hardness from 30 to 2.8 GPa due to lubricant effect of segregated Cu particles.