Production of wear-resistive coatings by plasma-ion deposition assisted with the plasma of a hot-cathode arc

The structure and microhardness of wear-resistive coatings produced by the method of complex surface treatment of materials in the plasma of a low-pressure arc discharge with the use of a hot-cathode plasma generator allowing cleaning the surface with inert gas (argon) ions, nitriding, and assisting the deposition process have been investigated. The nitride layer formed as a result of nitriding is crystallochemically compatible with a type TiN wear-resistive coating. It has been established that in the process of elion nitriding, when a negative bias is applied to the specimen, the kinetic energy of the ions is sufficient to destroy oxide films, while with a positive applied voltage, the temperature necessary for diffusion to occur is maintained by electrons.