Abstract: In a multi-functional hard material coating of a substrate wherein the hard material coating comprises a single phase crystalline structure including metastable mixed crystals of at least two hard material components which are not soluble in each other and comprise at least one metallic hard material and an ionic hard material whereby the advantages of metallic and ionic hard material components are combined.

Abstract: In a multi-functional hard material coating of a substrate wherein the hard material coating comprises a single phase crystalline structure including metastable mixed crystals of at least two hard material components which are not soluble in each other and comprise at least one metallic hard material and an ionic hard material whereby the advantages of metallic and ionic hard material components are combined.

Abstract: In a wear protection layer comprising, disposed on a substrate, a plurality of individual layers including a first individual layer of a metallic hard material disposed directly on the substrate, periodically repeated composite arrangements of three individual layers comprising two individual layers of different metallic hard materials and one individual layer consisting of a covalent hard material are disposed on the first individual layer of a metallic hard material whereby the mechanical, physical and chemical properties of the metallic hard materials are combined with the properties of the covalent hard materials.

Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a composite material structure consisting of a substrate with a layer of essentially pure sp.sup.2 - and sp.sup.3 -hybridized carbon with a sp.sup.3 -hybridized carbon proportion which increases toward the surface of the carbon layer, the carbon layer is deposited on the substrate by a PVD process using a magnetron sputtering apparatus in a process chamber in which an argon partial pressure of 0.6 to 1.0 pa is maintained and, during the carbon deposition, a bias voltage is maintained which is increased with increasing thickness of the layer from 0 to 300 volts.

Abstract: A primarily crystalline, titanium-containing protective layer of hard material with homogeneous distribution of elements on the surfaces of a substrate material. The protective layer comprises a stabilized mixed phase having a crystal structure made of a metallic hard material which is at least one material selected from TiN and TiC and a covalent hard material which is at least one material selected from SiC and Si.sub.3 N.sub.4.

Abstract: A protective coating for metallic substrates consists of a plurality of layers having a total thickness ranging from 0.1 to 10.mu., an individual thickness for each layer ranging from 0.5 to 40 nm, and a total number of layers which does not exceed 20,000, each layer being comprised of one kind of at least two kinds of crystalline hard substances and being arranged in a sequentially alternating order with respect to the others, the crystalline hard substances having phase interfaces with respect to one another which are at least crystallographically partially coherent. In an alternate embodiment, the protective coating is a single layer which is a superfinely dispersed mixture of the crystalline hard substances.

Abstract: A wear-resistant hard metal free of tungsten carbide. The hard metal comprises: molybdenum carbide; a carbide of another transition metal; boron, boron nitride, boron carbide, or a mixture thereof, in an amount of 0.1 to 1% by weight boron, based on the weight of the molybdenum carbide, other transition metal carbide and boron-containing material, and a binder metal selected from the group consisting of metals of the iron group of the Periodic Table of Elements, and alloys thereof.

Abstract: A hard alloy including at least one hard phase and a binary or multicomponent binder metal alloy, in which the hard substance comprises a finely dispersed, homogeneous distribution in the binder metal. The hard phase comprises a carbide of a Group IVb, Vb or VIb transition metal, and the binder metal alloy comprises a solid alloy of a Group IVb, Vb or VIb transition metal, with Re, Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, or Pt.