Microstructure and physical properties of PVD TiN/（Ti, Al）N multilayer coatings

Magnetron sputtered （Ti, Al） N monolayer and TiN/（Ti, Al） N multilayer coatings grown on cemented carbide substrates were studied by using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, nanoindentation, Rockwell A indentation test, strength measurements and cutting tests. The results show that the （Ti, Al）N monolayer and TiN/（Ti, Al）N multilayer coatings perform good affinity to substrate, and the TiN/（Ti, Al）N multilayer coating exhibits higher hardness, higher toughness and better cutting performance compared with the （Ti, Al）N monolayer coating. Moreover, the strength measurement indicates that the physical vapour deposition （PVD） coating has no effect on the substrate strength.