AbstractThe wear resistance of austenitic stainless steels can not be adequately improved by conventional plasma nitriding without compromising the corrosion resistance. However, recently a phase, known by some as‘S phase’, based on an alloy of austenitic stainless steel and nitrogen, has shown potential for simultaneously improving wear and corrosion resistance. Coatings of this material were deposited on copper and glass substrates by the reactive magnetron sputtering of AISI 316 targets under various nitrogen partial pressures. The coatings deposited using a single unbalanced magnetron all consisted of fine, spherically tipped columnar grains and showed a characteristic broad X-ray diffraction peak between 45 and 55°2θ. The hardness of these coatings on copper substrates was found to have a maximum value of∼700 HV at∼O.5 mtorr (∼O.7¨bar) nitrogen partial pressure. One coating deposited on glass using two unbalanced magnetrons operating in closed field mode differed from the other coatings, consisting of coarse columnar grains with both rounded and angular surface asperities. The broad X-ray diffraction peak for this coating was shifted to a higher Bragg angle.