PO4046‐Hard Coatings with High Film Thickness Prepared by PVD

Abstract

AbstractClassical hard coatings such as nitrides, oxides, or carbon coatings are normally used in a thickness range of under 10 µm. The preparation of such coatings can properly be handled in the industry and their coating properties can be well adjusted. Such coatings are used for wear resistant coatings of tools and components. For example, specific cutting applications are only possible by using a high performance hard coating. The preparation of thicker coatings is a demanding task, among others, for the following reasons. Most of the coating materials have a high level of intrinsic stress. At elevated coating thicknesses, the coatings tend to form cracks or to delaminate. Also an inhomogeneous film structure can be observed in many cases. Furthermore, the preparation of thicker films by PVD is a very time‐consuming operation. Nevertheless, thicker films are very interesting for many applications. One can, for example, achieve a remarkable longer lifetime of coated components. Another possibility is the mechanical post‐treatment of a coated part to sharpen a coated cutting edge or to create a special geometry. Precondition is a thick coating without growth defects and sufficient mechanical properties such as hardness, toughness, and temperature stability. This paper contributes to clarifying the problem and to discuss the possibilities to face the task.