Abstract
Properties of thin films of titanium aluminium nitride (TiAlON) deposited on tungsten carbide substrate (WC- Co) by Magnetron Sputter Ion Plating (MSIP) were studied. Phase formation, phase transition, hardness and film structure are affected by the percentage of oxygen reactive gas. In this work the properties of the layers deposited at constant total vacuum pressure 10(-2) mbar and constant percentage of nitrogen reactive of 20 % and O-2 reactive gas ranging from 1 to 5% were studied. The investigations were carried out using, X- ray diffraction (XRD), Calotte measurement, nanoindentation, optical scanning microscope (OSM) and tribometer. The results show that the maximum hardness of the layer of TiAlON was 32 GPa.