Ion bombardment: a means to improve the properties of TiN/AlN multilayered coatings

Various multilayered systems were realised by reactive magnetron cathodic sputtering with DC polarisation for TiN layers and RF polarisation for AlN layers. Different types of ion bombardment were used during coating elaboration. The first type (I) is ion bombardment applied after sputtering of each layer in the multilayered system. The second (type II) is ion bombardment applied during deposition. The third (type III) is ion bombardment applied during deposition and after sputtering of each layer. All multilayered coatings show a periodic structure with more or less good-quality interfaces, depending on whether ion bombardment was applied or not. The type of ion bombardment influences the properties of these multilayered systems, such as the nanohardness and the elastic recovery. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.