Abstract
Various surface coating technologies have been applied to improve the tribological and mechanical properties of thin films. For the use of surface modified tools and parts under severe conditions, thin films with high adhesion strength are required. To quantitatively measure the adhesion of coating films on substrates a new method for the measurement of hard coating film was developed which consists of an indentation and an AE (Acoustic Emission) system. TiN coatings were deposited onto substrates using arc ion plating PVD. Indentation tests were conducted on substrates with different film thicknesses of 3, 5, and 7 μm. Two specific loads, denoted the “Critical load”, and the “Fracture load” were defined. The critical load and fracture load correlate to the initiation of delamination and film fracture. The critical load was calculated a finite element calculation and SEM observation.
