Abstract
In this paper, two series of Me-Cu-N (Me=Zr,Ti) nanocomposite films were deposited using pulsed bias arc ion plating system. The effect of copper content on the structure and mechanical properties of the films was investigated by means of electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nano-indentation and scratch tester. The results show that very tiny nanocrystals of Cu are distributed throughout the MeN matrix. The copper content has significant effect on the structure and hence on the mechanical properties of Me-Cu-N films. With the increase of copper content, the hardness and modulus of the Zr-Cu-N thin films decrease, whereas that of the Ti-Cu-N films increase first and then decrease. The Ti-Cu-N superhard nanocomposite films have the maximum hardness and modulus value of 45.0GPa and 562.0GPa respectively. All films exhibit excellent adhesion strength.
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