Nanomechanical testing of an a-C:N nanolayer prepared by ion beam assisted deposition on Ti.sub.6./sub.Al.sub.4./sub.V alloy

We applied ion beam assisted deposition for preparing a-C:N nanolayers on Ti6Al4V alloy. A Hysitron TI 950 TriboIndenter (TM) nanomechanical test instrument was used to assess the depth profiles of the mechanical properties on modified titanium substrates. Two methods were employed : a) quasistatic partial unload, and b) dynamic Continuous Measurement of X (CMX). The average nanoindentation hardness increased from HIT similar to 5GPa for a reference sample to HIT similar to 8.6 GPa for a sample coated by an a-C nanolayer, and to HIT similar to 11.5 GPa for a sample coated by an a-C:N nanolayer. The average storage modulus of the sample coated by a-C:N increased from E' similar to 130 GPa (reference sample) to E' similar to 155 GPa. The storage modulus of the sample coated by the a-C nanolayer was less than the storage modulus of the titanium substrate