Composition-Structure-Property Relations in TiZr-C Nanocomposites

This research focuses on the establishment of the relationship between composition-structure-properties of nanocomposite Ti-Zr-C coatings. The coatings have been deposited by the dual-target magnetron sputtering on Si substrates and explored with the atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation. It has been found that the coatings have a nanocrystalline microstructure, are sufficiently textured, and represent a solid solution of the fcc-phase. The atomic concentration of elements in the initial target affects the structure and composition of the resulting coatings. It is shown that Ti-Zr-C coating with the lowest surface roughness (0.8 nm), the stoichiometric composition by carbon (50 at. % C) and the coarsest crystalline structure (15 nm) has the maximum values of the hardness of $\sim 35$ GPa and Young's modulus of $\sim 310$ GPa.