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Abstract

A hard thin film having fine crystalline ceramic particles dispersed in a metallic matrix phase is disclosed. The production of the film is effected by first depositing a substantially amorphous film on a substrate and then heat-treating the deposited film. Deposition of the film on the substrate is carried out by using a source of evaporation having a composition represented by the general formula: Al.sub.a M.sub.b, wherein M stands for at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ti, Ta, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, W, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu and 'a' and 'b' respectively stand for atomic % in the ranges of 60.ltoreq.a.ltoreq.98.5 and 1.5.ltoreq.b.ltoreq.40, providing a+b=100. Deposition is effected by a physical vapor deposition process in an atmosphere of an inert gas containing a reaction gas while controlling the feed rate of the reaction gas into a chamber in such a manner that the partial pressure of the react/on gas is kept constant or varied continuously or stepwise. By this method, there can be obtained a hard composite film having fine ceramic particles dispersed in a metallic matrix phase or a dense, hard, and composite film having a composition and structure obliquely varied from a substantially crystalline metallic phase to a crystalline ceramic phase in the direction of thickness of the film.

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First Claim