Investigation of the Properties of TixCr1-xN Coatings Prepared by Cathodic Arc Deposition

The structure, composition and mechanical properties of TixCr1-xN coatings have been investigated. Processing by cathodic arc evaporation using cathodes with different arc currents was performed to obtain coatings with compositions x=0.52, x=0.59, x=0.68, x=0.72 and x=0.81, The TixCr1-xN hard coatings were characterized by nanoindentation, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results showed the coatings consisted of B1-NaCl type cubic structure, the Cr content promoted a (200) preferred crystallographic orientation and has a dramatic influence on the hardness of TixCr1-xN coatings, which indicted the alloy-strengthening of the Cr element on TiN-based coatings.