US Patent 7648781 Hard films and sputtering targets for the deposition thereof

For superior wear resistance to conventional TiN hard films and TiAlN hard films, a hard film contains (Zr1-a, Hfa) (C1-xNx), wherein “a” and “x” are the atomic ratios of Hf and N, respectively, and satisfy the following conditions: 0.05≦a≦0.4 and 0≦x≦1. Another hard film contains (Zr1-a-b, Hfa, Mb) (C1-xNx), wherein M is at least one of W and Mo; and “a”, “b”, and “x” are the atomic ratios of Hf, M, and N, respectively, and satisfy the following conditions: 0≦1−a−b, 0≦a, 0.03≦b≦0.35, and 0≦x≦1.