Thin ceramic coatings have been widely used for protecting the surfaces of various manufacturing tools and mechanical components. Different physical vapor deposition techniques are used for their preparation. A typical duplex process involves plasma nitriding and the coating treatment of materials. In the paper are presented characteristics of hard coatings deposited by PVD (physical vapor deposition) and IBAD (ion beam assisted deposition). Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation technique were applied for coating characterization
Subsequent ion implantation was provided with N5+ ions. Ion implantation has the capabilities of producing new compositions and structures unattainable by conventional means. Implantation may result in changes in the surface properties of a material, including hardness, wear, coefficient of friction and other properties.
Nitrogen implantation is actually the solution implemented in 80%÷90% of all cases. Medium – high dose (1÷4x1017 ions/cm2) nitrogen implantation of steels is widely employed for the most standard applications. In the case of nitrogen implantation, these compounds are nitrides and although the formation of iron nitrides may occur in steels, it is usually the alloying additions that will form the hardest nitrides (e.g. aluminum, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, titanium and tungsten). Gas (primarily nitrogen) and metal ions are implanted to doses in the range 1016÷1018 ion/cm2. Nitrogen is currently used for two reasons. First, it is relatively simple to obtain a gas ion beam where the beam parameters can be varied over a wide range. Second, most tools and component parts are made from steel containing nitride-forming elements. In contrast, metal ion implantation (MII) is not used so widely.
A typical duplex process involves plasma nitriding and the coating treatment of materials. In the paper are presented characteristics of hard coatings deposited by PVD (physical vapor deposition) and  IBAD (ion beam assisted deposition). The synthesis of the TiN film by IBAD has been performed by irradiation of Ar ions. Subsequent ion implantation was provided with N5+ ions. Ion implantation has the capabilities of producing new compositions and structures unattainable by conventional means. Implantation may result in changes in the surface properties of a material, including hardness, wear, coefficient of friction and other properties.
The combination of nitriding and hard coating allows the production of duplex coatings, which are distinguished by a high resistance against complex loads, since the advantages of both individual processes are combined here. The film deposition process exerts a number of effects such as crystallographic orientation, morphology, topography, densification of the films. The optimization procedure for coated parts could be more effective, knowing more about the fundamental physical and mechanical properties of a coating, their interdependence and their influence on the wear behavior. The effects on the structure were investigated in detail in the present research.