| Summary: | TaN<i><sub>x</sub></i> coatings were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering with different bias voltages. The growth morphology, crystalline structure, chemical bond structure, hardness and elastic modulus, adhesion strength and tribological performance of the coatings were studied as a function of the bias voltage. The results showed that an increasing bias voltage refines the coating grains and facilitates structure densification. Simultaneously, the structure of the TaN<sub>x</sub> coatings transfers from a composite structure consisting of TaN and Ta<sub>2</sub>N crystals, through a single composite mainly composed of the Ta<sub>2</sub>N crystal, to an amorphous structure as the bias voltage increases from low to high, indicating that the phase composition of the TaN<i><sub>x</sub></i> coatings can be varied by the bias voltage. The coating composed of Ta<sub>2</sub>N crystal showed a good overall performance including enhanced hardness, enhanced adhesive strength, and good tribological performance with enhanced wear resistance and a low friction coefficient of 0.18.
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