Nanohardness of DC Magnetron Sputtered W – C Coatings as a Function of Composition and Residual Stresses

The effects of residual stresses in thin W-C based coatings were investigated with the aim to find their influence on nanohardness and indentation modulus. Ten samples of W-C based coatings were deposited on microslide glass substrates using DC magnetron sputtering at the identical deposition parameters. Their thickness was in the range from 500 to 600 nm. The residual stresses in the coatings varied from 1.5 GPa up to 4.4 GPa. Increase of residual stress caused linear increase of HITfrom 16 to 19.5 GPa. This increase was only the result of the compressive stresses. EITof the studied coatings was not sensitive to residual stresses and corresponded to 185 GPa ± 15 GPa.