Solid solution hardening in high rate reactively sputtered (Hf, Ti)N coatings

Abstract Coatings of (Hf, Ti)N were deposited by a high rate reactive sputtering process using a dual-cathode configuration. The coatings were analyzed to determine the effect of film composition of microhardness. Solid solution hardening was observed and was dependent on the partial pressure of the reactive gas (N 2 ). At the pressure where hardening was observed, the maximum hardness (3760 HV at 100 gf) occurred at a Ti:(Ti + Hf) ratio of approximately 50%.