The composite and film hardness of TiN coatings prepared by cathodic arc evaporation

On the basis of the relative volume deformation of film and substrate, a new model of the composite hardness equation is presented for thin surface coatings. A solution is applied to are evaporated TiN films with 05-3.0 mu m thickness on stainless steel 304 and tool steel M2. The model shows that the hardness of deposited films and of the substrate materials can simultaneously be obtained from the experimental composite hardness as a function of indentation diagonal length. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.