Characterization and mechanical properties of TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings with different modulation periods

The TiN/TiAlN nanomultilayer coatings with different modulation periods were deposited successfully on M2 high-speed steel by a pulsed bias arc ion plating system. The effect of modulation period on the microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated. With the increasing of deposition period, the Al contents in TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings monotonically increased continuously a little from 0.135 to 0.142, whereas the Ti and N contents were nearly constant. The microstructure TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings were crystallized with preferred orientation in (111) crystallographic planes. At modulation period of 164 nm, the nanohardness reached a maximum of 38.9 GPa. The Young's modulus values were in the range of 418-591 GPa. The adhesion strength reached a maximum of 66.2 N at modulation period of 54 nm.