Structure and Physical and Mechanical Properties of Nanocomposite (Zr-Ti-Cr-Nb)N and (Ti-Zr-Al-Nb-Y)N Coatings, Obtained by Vacuum-Arc Evaporation Method

We obtained nanocomposite (Zr-Ti-Cr-Nb)N coatings using the method of cathode vacuum-arc evaporation under pulse stimulation. The structure of the coatings is characterized by (5–10 nm) the crystallite’s size. Bias potential increasing leads to more intensive formation of nitrides, to increasing of relative concentration of Ti and Cr, and to increasing of hardness up to 4500 HV0,1 GPa. Sklerometrical investigations showed high adhesion strength and high hardness. Also, we studied nanostructured (Ti-Zr-Al-Nb-Y)N coatings, obtained from high-entropy alloys. Face-centered cubic (FCC) phases with average lattice parameter  = 4.3 are formed in such coatings. Hardness of such coatings is very high and equals to 4220 kg/mm2, thickness is around 8.5 µm. All these physical properties allow us to use such coatings as protective coatings for cutting tools.