Hard nanocrystalline Zr-B-C-N films with high electrical conductivity prepared by pulsed magnetron sputtering

► Pulsed reactive magnetron deposition of two new nanocrystalline and multifunctional Zr-B-C-N films. ► Hard (37 GPa) Zr25B57C14N3 films with low electrical resistivity of 2.3 × 10-6 Ωm and high oxidation resistance up to 650 °C. ► Hard (37 GPa) Zr41B30C8N20 films with low electrical resistivity of 1.7 × 10-6 Ωm and high oxidation resistance up to 550 °C.