Some effects of ion beam treatments on titanium nitride coatings of commercial quality

The present work deals with effects of N + ion implantation on the structure and properties of TiN coatings used in the cutting tools industry: The characterization was performed using glancing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and depth-sensing microindentation (ultra-microhardness). Results from PVD-type films are compared with those obtained from CVD TiN. Amorphization was noticed in the former, but not in the latter. Large changes in the residual stress and strain distributions are observed in the implanted zone and hardness measurements show a decrease in hardness after implantation with nitrogen in both PVD and CVD films. The correlation between the tribological data, nanohardness and the observed structural changes is presented and discussed.