At the research and production company “PlasmaScience” (Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan), a linear plasma generator installation, KAZ-PSI (Kazakhstan Plasma Generator for Plasma Surface Interactions), has been developed and constructed for the study of the interaction of plasma and materials. This article outlines some features of the developed experimental installation designed for the investigation of surface–plasma interactions. The primary components of the linear plasma installation include an electron-beam gun with a LaB6 cathode, a plasma-beam discharge chamber, an interaction chamber, a target device, and an electromagnetic system comprising electromagnetic coils. The KAZ-PSI unit enables continuous plasma generation using hydrogen, deuterium, helium, argon, and nitrogen. The electron density of the plasma is in the range of about 10¹⁷–10¹⁸ m⁻³ and the electron temperature is in the range of 1 to 20 eV. The incident ion energy is regulated by applying a negative potential of up to 2 kV to the target. Experiments on the irradiation of tungsten with helium plasma were carried out using the KAZ-PSI installation for the first time. This article presents the research findings on the structure and properties of tungsten relative to the temperature of helium plasma irradiation. Alterations in roughness, microstructure, hardness, modulus of elasticity, and erosion of the tungsten’s surface following helium plasma irradiation at varying temperatures were examined. The study’s results indicate that helium plasma irradiation induces changes in the morphology of the tungsten’s surface, creating surface relief due to sputtering by helium ions, as well as the formation of blisters. Mechanical testing revealed that after irradiation at T = 500 °C, there was an increase in hardness of up to 10%, and a slight decrease in modulus of elasticity. And after irradiation at T = 900 °C and T = 1300 °C, both hardness and elastic modulus decreased with rising temperature. The tungsten surface erosion evaluation results showed that the degrees of surface erosion increase with increasing target temperature.

TiO_xN_y coatings are known for their good biocompatibility and corrosion resistance and have been previously explored for biomedical applications, including cardiovascular stents. In this work, emphasis is placed on a systematic investigation of the effect of substrate bias voltage on the structural, morphological, and mechanical properties of TiO_xN_y films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. TiO_xN_y coatings were deposited on 316L stainless steel substrates using a pure titanium target (99.99%) in an Ar–N₂–O₂ gas mixture at various substrate bias voltages (0 to −150 V). The influence of substrate bias on the deposition rate, structure, and mechanical properties of the films was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the sequential phase evolution from cubic TiN to oxynitride TiON and further to TiO₂ (anatase/rutile) with increasing negative substrate bias, indicating that ion bombardment energy plays a decisive role in determining the crystallinity and phase composition of the coatings. The coating deposited at −50 V exhibited the highest hardness (~430 HV) and good adhesion strength (critical load 20–25 N). Contact angle measurements confirmed the hydrophilic behavior of the coatings, which is favorable for biomedical applications.

In the present work, the effect of the composition of the metal binder (Co–Cr, Ni, and NiCr) on the structure and performance properties of WC-based coatings obtained by detonation spraying is investigated. The coatings were characterized using microstructural analysis, EDS mapping, microhardness measurements, tribological testing, and corrosion analysis. The results show that changing the type of binder significantly affects the porosity, distribution of the WC phase, hardness, and tribological behavior of the coatings. The best combination of properties—the lowest coefficient of friction, highest hardness, and the highest corrosion resistance—was obtained for the WC–Co–Cr coating. These results indicate the potential of these coatings for extending the service life of pipeline fittings and equipment in the oil and gas sector.

This study investigates the influence of multilayer architecture on the mechanical, corrosion, and tribological properties of Ti/TiN coatings deposited on biomedical Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Nine multilayer configurations were prepared by DC/RF magnetron sputtering using metallic Ti and ceramic TiN targets, with a fixed TiN/Ti ratio of 3:1 and varying total numbers of layers (3, 5, and 7) and deposition times (30, 60, and 120 min). A strict application of the 10% indentation depth rule was implemented to eliminate substrate effects, which revealed significantly higher intrinsic hardness values (540–740 HV) and indentation moduli (124–143 GPa) compared to the substrate (353 HV; 114 GPa). In contrast, conventional higher-load testing underestimated coating performance due to substrate dominance. Among the investigated architectures, the Ti/TiN-7 configuration exhibited the best balance of properties, combining high hardness (~690 HV), modulus (~137 GPa), improved corrosion resistance (Ecorr up to −0.13 V, Icorr reduced by an order of magnitude), and stable abrasive wear behavior. These findings demonstrate that both bilayer number and deposition time critically determine the mechanical and functional response of Ti/TiN multilayers. The results provide practical guidelines for the reliable characterization and design of multilayer coatings for biomedical and aerospace applications.

The low hardness of copper alloys, which are the substrate material used for continuous casting molds, makes them prone to plastic deformation, wear, and high-temperature oxidation, leading to premature failure and the formation of surface defects on billets. In this work, the microstructure, phase composition, mechanical, and tribological properties of Cr₃C₂–NiCr coatings deposited by high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying onto copper substrates used in molds were investigated. This research was driven by the need to extend the service life of copper molds in continuous steel casting processes. It was established that spraying parameters have a decisive influence on porosity, coating thickness, microhardness, and friction behavior under conditions simulating billet contact with the working surface of the mold. Among the investigated regimes, the coating deposited at a powder feed rate of 11.39 m/s exhibited a dense lamellar structure and the highest level of microhardness. Tribological tests confirmed that this coating exhibited the lowest coefficient of friction, whereas the other coatings were characterized by higher porosity and poorer wear resistance. Thus, the results emphasize the necessity of optimizing spraying parameters to develop highly effective HVOF protective coatings for copper molds operating under extreme thermomechanical loads during steel casting.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are an effective means of providing thermal insulation and protecting the hot-section components of gas turbine engines. Their quality and performance characteristics largely depend on the microstructural features and the bond strength between the bonding layer and the substrate. The present study aims to determine the optimal plasma spraying parameters that ensure the formation of NiCrAlY coatings with superior microstructural integrity and adhesion strength. The objective of the study is a thermally sprayed nickel–chromium–aluminum–yttrium (NiCrAlY) bond coat deposited onto an Inconel 718 nickel-based superalloy, which is widely used in aircraft gas turbine engines due to its high strength and excellent oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures. It was found that the coating produced under the optimized conditions exhibited a significantly higher adhesion strength compared with the samples obtained under other spraying regimes. The results confirm that a precise adjustment of the atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) process parameters, taking into account the equipment configuration, allows for a substantial improvement in coating quality and performance.