Stability of nanometer-thick layers in hard coatings

This article reviews two topics related to the stability of hard coatings composed of nanometer-thick layers: epitaxial stabilization and high-temperature stability. Early work on nanolayered hard coatings demonstrated large hardness increases as compared with monolithic coatings, but it was subsequently found that the layers interdiffused at elevated temperatures. More recently it has been shown that nanolayers exhibit good stability at elevated temperatures if the layer materials are thermodynamically stable with respect to each other and are able to form low-energy coherent interfaces. This article discusses metal/nitride, nitride/nitride, and nitride/boride nanolayers that exhibit good high-temperature stability and hardness values that are maintained (or even increase) after high-temperature annealing. Epitaxial stabilization of nonequilibrium structures in thin layers is a well-known phenomenon that has been applied to hard nitride materials. In particular, AlN, which crystallizes in the hexagonal wurtzite structure in bulk form, was stabilized in the rock-salt cubic structure in nitride/nitride nanolayers (e.g. AlN/TiN). These results and the current understanding of epitaxial stabilization in hard nanolayers are discussed.