Recently, a hardness similar to that of diamond has been reported for a quasiternary, nitride-based nanocomposite. The related, quasibinary nanocomposite ``nc-TiN/a-Si₃N₄,'' which may be regarded as the prototype of the family of superhard nc-metal-N/a-Si₃N₄ systems, also exhibits a significant hardness enhancement. Extensive density-functional theory calculations indicate that the superhardness is related to the preferential formation of TiN(111) polar interfaces with a thin β-Si₃N₄-derived layer. The strength of TiN in the $⟨111⟩$ direction is similar to that of the weakest bonding direction in diamond. Oxygen impurities cause a significant reduction of the interface strength.
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Hao et al. (2006) studied this question.
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