Ti-Si-N composite coatings were synthesized on a novel combining cathode and middle-frequency magnetron sputtering system, designed on an industrial scale. Ti was produced from the arc target and Si from magnetron target during deposition. The influences of negative bias voltage and Si content on the hardness and microstructure of the coatings were investigated. The composite coatings prepared under optimized conditions were characterized to be nc-TiN/a-Si3N4 structure with grain sizes of TiN ranging from 8-15 nm and exhibited a high hardness of 40 GPa. The enhancement of the hardness is suggested to be caused by the nanograin-amorphous structure effects.
Thick CrN coatings were deposited on Si （111） substrates by electron source assisted mid-frequency magnetron sputtering working at 40 kHz. The deposition rate, structure, and microhardness of the coatings were strongly influenced by the negative bias voltage （Vb）. The deposition rate reached 8.96 μm/h at a Vb of -150 V. X-ray diffraction measurement revealed strong CrN （200） orientation for films prepared at low bias voltages. At a high bias voltage of Vb less than -25 V both CrN （200） and （111） were observed. Large and homogeneous grains were observed by both atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy in samples prepared under optimal conditions. The samples exhibited a fibrous microstructure for a low bias voltage and a columnar structure for VD less than -150 V.
