Growth of WC–Cr–N and WC–Al–N coatings in a RF-magnetron sputtering process

Tungsten carbide-based coatings have been used in a wide variety of industrial applications such as high speed cutting tools, extrusion dies, drills, aerospace industries, and more. A few reports on ternary and quaternary coatings of WC with other elements indicate good prospects for these material systems. The present study focuses on the formation of quaternary WCeCreN and WCeAleN coatings during the simultaneous reactive RF-magnetron sputtering of tungsten carbide and Al or Cr targets in an argon/nitrogen gas mixture. The resulting coatings, with thicknesses of 3.5 mme8.2 mm, were characterized by using several analytical techniques including X-ray diffraction, SEM/EDS, AFM, and X-ray ph…