Tribological behavior of multiphase super hard boron nitride films deposited by HiPIMS

The tribological behavior of a super hard boron nitride (c-BN) film with the presence of h-BN, c-BN and w-BN phases is reported. The BN film was deposited onto AISI 52100 steel substrates and silicon wafers by using a B4C target coupled to a HiPIMS source. The results revealed a c-BN cubic content fraction of 43 % according to transmission modes obtained by the FTIR on the deposited film, with a hardness of 61.3 GPa. The film showed high Friction Coefficient values (up to 1.01). This study shows new results on the tribological behavior of a superhard boron nitride film with the presence of h-BN, c-BN and w-BN phases, which increased the wear resistance almost two orders of magnitude in comparation with the uncoated steel.

Automated summary

This study reports the tribological behavior of a superhard boron nitride film with the presence of h-BN, c-BN, and w-BN phases. The film exhibited high hardness and friction coefficient, resulting in a wear resistance almost two orders of magnitude higher than uncoated steel.