Wear tests of ZrC and ZrN thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition.

Highlights: [•] ZrC and ZrN films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on Si wafers at 500°C. [•] AES investigations results indicated that films contain less than 2% O in bulk. [•] Uniaxial reciprocating sliding tests found a friction coefficient of around 0.3 and a wear rate of only 4.5×10−6 mm3/Nm for the ZrN films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]