INFLUENCE OF Cu CONTENT ON PREFERRED ORIENTATION AND PROPERTIES OF CrCuN COATINGS

CrCuN coatings were deposited using double target co sputtering by DC pulsed magnetron reactive sputtering. The Cu content increases from 0.7[Formula: see text]at.% to 5.5[Formula: see text]at.% with the increase of Cu target current from 0.08 to 0.24[Formula: see text]A. The influence of Cu content on preferred orientation and properties of CrCuN coatings was investigated. The results show that CrCuN coatings are mainly composed of CrN phase. Except for the coating containing 4.2[Formula: see text]at.% Cu, the other CrCuN coatings show CrN(111) preferred orientation. All the coatings have loose structure, which is chiefly responsible for unsatisfactory hardness. The oriented growth plays an important role in the change of coating hardness with Cu content.