THE EFFECT OF ION PARAMETERS ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND THEIR PROPERTIES OF PVD HARD COATINGS

Physical vapor deposition(PVD)methods have found widespread appli-cation the deposition of hard coatings. In order to compare potential and limi-tations of the PVD methods, a good knowledge of the physical processes offilm growth, formation of various film microstructures, and the resultingproperties iS necessary. Here the latest advances in understanding the ef-fect of physical film growth parameter on the microstructure of growingfilms are reviewed.Examples of sputtered TiN film microstructure are given.A critical review of the structure zone models is presented.