Nitride Coatings Based on a High-Entropy Alloy Formed by the Ion-Plasma Method

Nitride coatings based on the high-entropy alloy with the elemental composition of TiNbZrTaHf were formed by deposition onto a solid substrate in vacuum from a multi-component gas-metal plasma created by vacuum arc cathode evaporation with plasma assistance in a mixture of nitrogen and argon. It was shown that the coatings are a single-phase (FCC crystal structure; a = 0.4508 nm) nanocrystalline (2.5–3 nm) material with a hardness of 26 GPa and a Young’s modulus of 359.2 GPa.