Nanostructural aspects of the wear process of multilayer tribological coatings

Ex situ and in situ scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies (SEM and TEM respectively) of the wear mechanisms in Ti/TiN with silver nanoparticles were performed herein. Two types of wear mechanisms occur the in multilayer coatings that consist of the layer-by-layer removal of the coating and deformation localization through the formation of shear bands. The shifting of the layers in the shear band area is equal to the layer repetition period, where a period consists of one metallic and one ceramic layer. It is confirmed that the angle in between the c-axis of the parent lattice and twin lattice is approximately 35°, which indicates the operation of the tensile twining mode T2 in the individual Ti crystallites.