Friction and wear reduction of hard TiAlSiN coatings by an integrated approach of laser surface texturing and high-energy ion implantation

•Regular surface patterns were prepared by laser ablation method.•Wear performance of TiAlSiN coatings was improved by surface texturing and ion implantation.•Friction and wear were found to be reduced on the coating with texturing and ion implantation.

Reducing friction, wear and lubricants are the main developing tendency in the modern manufacturing technology. In this work, we used an integrated approach to reduce the friction and wear of hard TiAlSiN coatings. Firstly, dimples were introduced to substrate surface by a Nd:YAG laser. Secondly, TiAlSiN coatings were prepared on the textured surfaces by magnetron sputtering technique. Finally, high energy ion implantation was performed on the textured coating surface. In this manner, adherent ion mixing layer can be present on the textured coating surface. The hard coating supports the load while the ion mixing layer provides low friction coefficient. The samples were characterized by different techniques such as Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometry and nanoindentation measurement etc. Additionally, wear performance was characterized by a ball-on-disk wear tester in dry condition. The results showed that the structural and mechanical properties of the TiAlSiN coatings could be altered by ion implantation process. Surface softening was found for the coatings implanted with carbon. In addition, the TiAlSiN coatings with surface texturing and ion implantation had an obvious improvement on friction and wear as compared to un-treated coated surfaces. The improved wear performance can be explained by the entrapment of wear particles by surface dimples and the formation of an ion mixing layer produced by ion implantation process.