The Structure and Mechanical Properties of Multilayer Metal-Carbon Coatings Deposited in Pulse Plasma of Arc Discharge

Abstract

The influence of the architecture of multilayer metal-carbon coatings, the nature of individual metallic layers (Ti, Cu), heat treatment parameters on their microhardness, the level of internal stresses and tribotechnical properties are determined. It is defined that for systems based on carbon and nanosized metal layers, the friction coefficient values are lower than for single-layer carbon coatings. Heat treatment of multilayer systems in air leads to the increase in the friction coefficient, primarily Ti/a-C/Ti coatings, which is due to the formation of solid phases of TiN, TiC and TiCN, as well as oxides of TixOy acting as abrasive. The level of internal stresses of multilayer systems containing layers of copper is lower than that of single-layer carbon coatings and coatings containing layers of titanium.