In this study, CrYN coatings were prepared using multi-arc ion plating at various substrate bias voltages (−50 V, −100 V, −150 V, and −200 V). X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the composition and microstructure of the coatings. An electrochemical workstation and a ball-on-disk tribometer were used to investigate their corrosion and friction behavior. The results show that grain refinement can be achieved through the addition of yttrium (Y) and that the surfaces of coatings prepared under different bias voltages have varying smoothness and compactness. It was shown that surfaces prepared under −100 V bias voltages were relatively smooth and dense in structure, corresponding to a Y content of 2.83 at.%; CrYN coatings at −100 V were shown to have the highest corrosion potential and a low self-corrosion current, equating to superior corrosion resistance. Additionally, the friction coefficients of deposited CrYN coatings under bias voltages of −100 V were less than 0.2. Therefore, the coatings under bias voltages of −100 V had the minimum wear rate due to its structure, corrosion resistance, and friction.

Cr–Si–O–N coatings with different oxygen contents were deposited by multi-arc ion plating, where various O₂/(N₂ + O₂) reactive gas rates were adopted. The XRD and XPS results showed that the CrN crystals disappeared with the increasing of the oxygen flux ratio to 10 at.%. The microhardness of all the Cr–Si–O–N coatings was approximately 2000 Hv_0.05, which were dramatically plummeted compared to that of the Cr–Si–N coatings (≈3300 Hv_0.05). The Cr–Si–O–N coatings were annealed under 800 °C and 1200 °C in the air atmosphere for 2 h to study the high-temperature oxidation resistance of the coatings. Meanwhile, Cr–Si–O–N coatings with different O₂/(N₂ + O₂) rates were also used to carry out the corrosion resistance testing using the electrochemical working station in 3.5% NaCl solution under free air condition at room temperature. The results indicated that the coatings containing oxygen were more vulnerable to the high-temperature destruction and more easily corroded in the NaCl electrolyte.