Industrially deposited hard and damage resistant W-B-C coatings

The article presents composition-dependent structural and mechanical properties of sputter-deposited W-B-C coatings. The industrial batch-coater employs a cylindrical sputter source fitted with a segmented target composed of tungsten, boron carbide, and carbon segments. Stationary and single-axis rotation depositions are carried out to understand the differences between laboratory-like and industrial preparation of the coatings. The W-B-C coatings are studied over a broad range of chemical compositions. Coatings are mainly amorphous, but at specific chemical compositions, they tend to form the short-range ordered tungsten borides or nanocrystalline cubic tungsten carbide. The amorphous coatings exhibit high hardness (24 GPa), high elastic modulus (440 GPa), no residual stress, and outperform the TiN and AlCrN in the damage resistance determined by the instrumental indentation test.

Automated summary

The article discusses the structural and mechanical properties of sputter-deposited W-B-C coatings, which are found to be composition-dependent. Different deposition methods and chemical compositions are studied, revealing that the coatings are mainly amorphous but can form ordered tungsten borides or nanocrystalline cubic tungsten carbide under specific conditions. The amorphous coatings exhibit high hardness, elastic modulus, and damage resistance compared to TiN and AlCrN coatings.