Abstract: For the production of a coating formed by cathode sputtering, a target made from an alloy of gold and preferably vanadium is used. During the cathode sputtering, nitrogen gas is used as the reactive gas. The result is the formation of vanadium nitrides on the substrate to be coated. By varying the nitrogen content, the proportion of the vanadium nitrides can be changed thereby causing the appearance and the hardness of the coating to also change. This change in coating characteristics can accommodate a broad range of requirements avoiding the necessity of using different targets for different coating characteristics.

Abstract: The invention concerns a process for coating a substrate 1 of little or no corrosion resistance, especially a metal substrate having an alloy consisting at least of Ni, Cr and Fe, in an evacuable coating chamber 15, 15a. It comprises making an electrode that can be connected to a current supply 10, this electrode being electrically connected to a target 3 which is sputtered and the sputtered particles of which are deposited on the substrate 1. Reactive process gases are, for this purpose, supplied to the coating chamber 15, 15a, so that an amorphously depositing layer 2 is applied onto the substrate.