Tribological behavior of Ti-Al-Si-C-N hard coatings deposited by hybrid arc-enhanced magnetron sputtering

Ti-Al-Si-C-N hard coatings are deposited on high speed steel by hybrid arc-enhanced magnetron sputtering, and the hardness, adhesion, and tribological behavior are studied. On account of the nanocomposite structure, the coatings possess hardness of more than 30 GPa. Failure of the coating during the scratch test is due to the buckling and wedge spallation failure mechanism. Compared to Ti-Al-Si-N, the presence of C in the Ti-Al-Si-C-N coatings leads to reduced friction coefficient and wear rate, indicating effective lubrication rendered by amorphous C. According to the wear tracks examined by scanning electron microscopy, the wear mechanism can be explained by plowing abrasion.