Comparative study of the interface composition of TiN and TiCN hard coatings on high speed steel substrates obtained by arc discharge

In this paper the composition of the interface of TiN and TiCN hard coatings deposited onto high speed steel substrates obtained by the arc discharge technique is studied using Auger electron spectroscopy at two different substrate temperatures, 520 K and 720 K. The low temperature (520 K) TiN coating developed an oxygen phase at the interface, producing a weak adherence of 40 N, while the high temperature coatings (720 K) has a less intense oxygen phase, giving a greater adherence to the substrate of 60 N. The TiCN coatings at 520 K are characterized by a low oxygen intensity at the interface. However, their adherence of 50 N is lower than the value of 60 N for the high temperature TiN coatings and is independent of the substrate temeperature.