Mechanical and Tribological Response of [CoN/AlN]_n Multilayers Obtained from Laser Ablation

[CoN/AlN]n multilayer coatings with different bilayer numbers (n = 10, 20 and 30) were developed, showing an interesting evolution in the mechanical properties and tribological behavior. These coatings were deposited by pulsed laser deposition technique with a Nd: YAG laser (λ = 1064 nm) on Silicon (100) and AISI 302 steel substrates. The structural and chemical composition analysis was performed by (XRD) and (XPS), showing characteristic phases and the stoichiometry of AlN (111) and CoN (200) materials. The surface morphology by (AFM) presented a reduction in grain size and roughness as a function of the bilayer number. The mechanical evaluation found an increase of 40% in the hardness and 19.4% in the elastic modulus when comparing [CoN/AlN]₃₀ to the cobalt nitride (CoN) single layer. The tribological analysis evidenced the values of 0.33 for the friction coefficient and 57 N for the critical load at which the adhesive failure of the coatings (L_C2) appeared. The mechano-tribological results found in these transition metals-based multilayer nitrides open a possibility of future applications in mechanical devices that require high demands in service conditions due to the high mechanical performance observed in the [CoN/AlN]_n multilayers.