This paper presents the results of the investigation of a multilayer TiAlSiN/AlSiN coating. A novel coating architecture with a period consisting of nanocomposite sublayers of TiAlSiN and AlSiN was developed. We discovered that the combination of a harder sublayer with a more elastic one allows for obtaining a suitable combination of superhardness and enhanced toughness. The coating was deposited by cathodic arc technology. The EDS, XRD, and XRS analyses revealed that the nanocomposite structure is composed of TiAlSiN and AlSiN nanocrystallites, with sizes of 12–13 nm and 4–5 nm, respectively. The nanograin phase is incorporated in an amorphous Si₃N₄ matrix. The achieved structure causes the presence of four factors contributing to the hardness increase: nanocomposition, solid solution, refinement hardening, and the formation of many interfaces. An instrumented indentation test was used to investigate the mechanical properties. The developed coating possesses a superhardness of 49.5 GPa and a low elastic modulus of 430 GPa, resulting in an improved elastic strain resistance of 0.11, a plastic deformation resistance of 0.58 GPa, and an elastic recovery of 68%. These results imply that the developed coating combines high stability with mechanical degradation under external influence and provides an improved ability to absorb energy at deformation before fracture, and high elastic recovery. The investigation of the effect of the period modulation on the structure, composition, and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite multilayer TiAlSiN/AlSiN coating showed that the superhardness was due to the nanocomposite and solid solution hardening rather than the increased number of interfaces. The demonstrated combination of superhardness with high elasticity and improved toughness determines the developed nanocomposite TiAlSiN/AlSiN coating as very suitable for industrial applications such as high speed and dry machining.

TiAlSiN/AlSiN coatings, with 3 and 30 periods, were successfully deposited by cathodic-arc evaporation technology. The composition, structure, mechanical, and tribological properties were studied at thermal treatment from 700 °C to 900 °C. The SEM observation and EDS analysis verified the dense structure and stable element composition in the coating depth at increased temperatures. A limited surface oxidation was identified at 800 °C, which increased moderately at a higher temperature of 900 °C. The coating period displays a nanocomposite structure of TiAl(Si)N and AlN nanograins incorporated in an amorphous Si₃N₄ matrix obtained by XRD and XPS analyses. The coatings exhibit high hardness of 41.1 GPa and 36.4 GPa for the 3- and 30-period coatings, respectively. The coatings with higher modulation periods demonstrate an excellent high temperature hardness and resistance to elastic and plastic deformations up to 900 °C. The hardness of the coatings with a smaller modulation period reduces to 29.7 GPa at the same temperature, causing a decrease in the H/E and H³/E^*2 ratios. The tribological tests found that the high-temperature wear resistance depends strongly on the coating composition and architecture. An oxidation wear mechanism dominates the coatings with a large modulation period, and the wear rate decreases with a temperature increase. Abrasive wear is predominant in coatings with a lower modulation period, leading to an increasing wear rate. Wear rate values of 7.27 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/N·m and 8.53 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/N·m were determined after annealing at 900 °C for the 3- and 30-period coatings, respectively.

A preliminary investigation of the optical properties of complex Cr-based hard coatings and their connection with the compound structure of the coatings is presented. Cr/CrN, Cr/CrN/CrAlN, Cr/CrN/CrTiAlN, and Cr/CrN/CrAlTiN coating structures were deposited through unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Their mechanical properties, especially nanohardness, coefficient of friction, and adhesion, were measured. The structure and composition of the coatings were characterised through SEM, FIB, XPS, and TEM. Their optical properties were investigated by UV-VIS ellipsometry. The optical parameters’ phase difference Δ, the amplitude ratio Ψ, the frequency-dependent real (ε₁(ω)) and imaginary (ε₂(ω)) part of the dielectric function, and the corresponding refractive and extinction indexes n(ω) and k(ω) were measured and modelled via regression analysis implemented using the WVASE© software version 3.686. Satisfactory coincidence was achieved between the measured optical data and the corresponding fitting models. The physical polycrystalline optical constants of the industrial samples were extracted from modelling data with roughness. The analysis of the data showed that ellipsometric characterisation can be used in order to determine the physical properties of Cr-based hard coatings with complex structure and composition, as well as for repeatability control of the deposition process. However, more detailed research is needed to predict the composition based on measured optical properties.

This work focuses on the study of tribo-mechanical and microstructural properties of TiCN/ZrCN multilayer coatings with a modulation period of 12 nm, obtained by a conventional cathodic arc technique. The coatings were deposited at a temperature of 320 °C using nitrogen and methane reactive gases (N₂/CH₄) mixture in three different proportions. Surface morphology, composition, hardness, adhesion, friction and wear behavior were studied using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation, and scratch and wear tests. The analysis of the coating composition revealed a strict dependence of the carbon content on the CH₄ flow rate. It was found that the coatings with a carbon content of 14.6 at.% and 15.9 at.% consist of crystalline TiZr (C,N) with the presence of amorphous carbon. All the studied TiCN/ZrCN coatings showed improved tribo-mechanical properties compared to TiN/ZrN multilayers obtained under the same deposition conditions. The highest hardness of 40 GPa was obtained for the coating deposited at a N₂/CH₄ flow rate of 370/100 sccm. The lowest wear rate of 3.16 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/N·m under dry sliding conditions was observed in the multilayer coatings deposited at the N₂/CH₄ flow rates of 330/140 sccm.