Flow curve determination on dc-MS and HPPMS CrAIN coatings

In this paper, a new method for determining flow curves of thin coatings is tested on the basis of chromium aluminum nitride coatings deposited by direct current and high power pulsed magnetron sputtering physical vapour deposition with a wide range of chemical composition. The flow curves have been determined using the nanoindentation technique with a spherical indenter combined with analytical methods and finite element simulation. Extensive analyses of the FEM simulation also examine the possible influence of the substrate material on the measured flow curves. The results show that different coating flow behaviour have been characterized with this method which can be correlated with material phase appearance in the coating. Suggestions to completely eliminate the substrate's influence in experiment or simulation are made.