Microhardness of Ti-Al-Si-N Coatings Deposited by DC Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

(Ti,Al,Si)N coatings were deposited on HSS or silicon substrates by DC reactive UM magnetron sputtering. The target was Ti-Al-Si (50 at.% Al, 25 at.% Ti, 25 at.% Si). There were deposited several coatings by varying the nitrogen flow rate. The microhardness of (Ti,Al,Si)N coatings was measured using a CV-400 AAT hardness tester and was found in 4...24 GPa range. XTEM investigation showed the columnar microstructure for coatings deposited in the absence of reactive gas and the nanocristallyne microstructure for (Ti,Al,Si)N coatings