Influence of Bias Voltage and CH₄/N₂ Gas Ratio on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of TiCN Coatings Deposited by Cathodic Arc Deposition Method

This article presents a study of the influence of the bias voltage and CH₄/N₂ gas ratio on the structure and mechanical properties of TiCN coatings. The coatings are deposited by cathodic arc deposition technology from Ti cathodes under an atmosphere of a mixture of CH₄ and N₂ gasses. XRD analysis shows that an increase in the methane flow changes the preferential orientation of the coating from (111) to (200) and results in a refinement of the structure (grain size reduction from 23 to 7 nm). SEM analysis shows that the coatings are stoichiometric. It was demonstrated that the bias voltage has an influence on the grain size, hardness and elasticity module. The highest hardness value of 52.5 GPa was measured at the coatings lacking a clear preferential orientation. The adhesion of the coatings showed a critical load in the range of 29-64 N.