Effect of wavelength modulation of arc evaporated Ti–Al–N/Ti–Al–V–N multilayer coatings on microstructure and mechanical/tribological properties

• Industrial-scale cathodic arc evaporation of Ti–Al–N/Ti–Al–V–N coatings
• Cubic TiAlN template stabilizes growth of cubic TiAlVN layer up to 20 nm thickness.
• Suppressing of wurtzite phase enhances mechanical and tribological properties.

Ti–Al–N/Ti–Al–V–N multilayer hard coatings were grown by industrial-scale cathodic arc evaporation on cemented carbide and silicon substrates, and the wavelength of compositional modulation of the coatings was systematically varied by changing the rotation speed of the substrate carousel. The face-centered cubic Ti1 − xAlxN template epitaxially stabilizes growth of the originally dual-phase cubic and wurtzite Ti–Al–V–N layer up to layer thicknesses of ~ 20 nm. Suppressing the formation of the wurtzite phase leads to a significant enhancement of mechanical and tribological properties, outperforming single-layer Ti–Al–N coatings.