Cathodic arc deposition of titanium nitride coatings on commercial steels

Titanium nitride coatings have;been deposited using cathodic are physical v apor deposition technique on the commercially available steels. Effect of n itrogen partial pressure was studied keeping bias voltage, are current and deposition time constant Phases formed during coating were identified by x- ray diffraction. Microhardness was also determined using Vickers microhardn ess tester The study revealed that only Ti2N was formed as a function of ni trogen partial pressure. The enhancement in hardness was found to be depend ent on substrate material The deposited coatings exhibited variation in col ors (from light golden yellow to greenish golden yellow) which were attribu te to the nitrogen partial pressure and the substrate material. (C) 1998 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.