PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERHARD CNX ZRN MULTILAYERS/

A dual-cathode, unbalanced de magnetron sputtering system was used to grow CNx/ZrN multilayers on Si and polished M1 steel substrates at amb ient temperature. Nanoindentation results showed that, under apprepria te conditions, it is possible to get CNx/ZrN multilayer coatings with hardness in the 50 GPa regime and modulus up to 410 GPa. X-ray diffrac tion studies revealed a strong correlation between hardness and the oc currence of (111) texture of ZrN. Cross-sectional transmission electro n microscopy showed a high degree of crystallinity throughout the coat ing without obvious voids. These multilayers are crystalline only at s mall bilayer thicknesses on the order of 2 nm. (C) 1997 American Vacuu m Society.