TiAlN single layer coatings deposited by High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) on carbide and Si-wafers substrates were performed. They were characterized in order to study the effects of different process parameters on the film stoichiometry, microstructure and morphology and finally their mechanical and tribological properties were investigated. For comparison, the properties of the same composition Ti₅₀Al₅₀N coatings produced by Cathodic Arc Evaporation (CAE) were also studied. Only the most influential process parameters, which are the effects of duty cycle, pressure, power and bias for the HiPIMS process are here discussed. High-resolution TEM images were used to investigate the microstructure of CAE and HiPIMS coatings and the observations indicate that both processes produced high density Ti₅₀Al₅₀N coatings with a fine fibrous structure, and a similar grain size. XRD analyses showed that TiAlN coatings deposited by CAE and by HiPIMS have a single-phase cubic structure with respectively the (200) and (111) reflection peaks as a preferred orientation. Furthermore, the residual stresses determined by XRD for the HiPIMS coated samples show that it can be possible to tune them from tensile (+500 MPa) to high compressive stresses (−4000 MPa) by adjusting the process parameters. Independently of their intrinsic stress level, the HiPIMS coatings show similar hardness and the values obtained are in the same range of CAE coatings (30–35 GPa) with same composition and thickness. However, during ball-on-disc tests in dry condition using a steel ball against the coated carbide substrate, the behaviour of similar Ti₅₀Al₅₀N as deposited coatings produced by these two processes was different. Lower friction coefficients (−30%) but, higher abrasion kinetic of the steel ball as counterpart during pin-on-disk test (+50%) were recorded for the Ti₅₀Al₅₀N HiPIMS coatings. In conclusion, it is proposed that, for HiPIMS coatings with high compressive stresses (<−5000 MPa), having also low surface roughness and (111) main texture orientation, high tribological properties can be achieved.

进行了通过高功率脉冲磁控溅射 (HiPIMS) 在碳化物和硅晶片衬底上沉积的 TiAlN 单层涂层。为了研究不同工艺参数对薄膜化学计量、微观结构和形态的影响，对它们进行了表征，最后研究了它们的机械和摩擦学性能。为了比较，相同成分 Ti ₅₀ Al _{50 的性能}还研究了通过阴极电弧蒸发 (CAE) 生产的 N 涂层。这里只讨论最有影响的工艺参数，即占空比、压力、功率和偏置对 HiPIMS 工艺的影响。高分辨率 TEM 图像用于研究 CAE 和 HiPIMS 涂层的微观结构，观察结果表明两种工艺都产生了高密度 Ti ₅₀ Al ₅₀N 涂层具有精细的纤维结构和相似的晶粒尺寸。XRD 分析表明，通过 CAE 和 HiPIMS 沉积的 TiAlN 涂层具有单相立方结构，分别具有（200）和（111）反射峰作为优选取向。此外，由 XRD 确定的 HiPIMS 涂层样品的残余应力表明，可以通过调整工艺参数将它们从拉伸应力 (+500 MPa) 调整到高压缩应力 (-4000 MPa)。与其固有应力水平无关，HiPIMS 涂层显示出相似的硬度，并且获得的值与具有相同成分和厚度的 CAE 涂层 (30-35 GPa) 相同。然而，在干燥条件下使用钢球对着涂层硬质合金基材进行球盘试验期间，类似的 Ti ₅₀Al ₅₀ N 作为这两种工艺产生的沉积涂层是不同的。Ti ₅₀ Al ₅₀ N HiPIMS 涂层的摩擦系数较低 (-30%)，但在针盘试验期间，钢球的磨损动力学较高 (+50%) 。总之，建议对于具有高压缩应力 (<-5000 MPa)、同时具有低表面粗糙度和 (111) 主要纹理取向的 HiPIMS 涂层，可以实现高摩擦学性能。