  This paper presents the findings of the synthesis of multicomponent (Al, W,
Ni, Ti, Nb) alloy coatings from mosaic targets. For the study, a pulsed
magnetron sputtering method was employed under different plasma generation
conditions: modulation frequency (10 Hz and 1000 Hz), and power (600 W and 1000
W). The processes achieved two types of alloy coatings, high entropy and
classical alloys. After the deposition processes, scanning electron microscopy,
X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques were
employed to find the morphology, thickness, and chemical and phase compositions
of the coatings. Nanohardness and its related parameters, namely H3.Er2, H.E,
and 1.Er2H ratios, were measured. An annealing treatment was performed to
estimate the stability range for the selected coatings. The results indicated
the formation of as-deposited coatings exhibiting an amorphous structure as a
single-phase solid solution. The process parameters had an influence on the
resulting morphology-a dense and homogenous as well as a columnar morphology,
was obtained. The study compared the properties of high-entropy alloy (HEA)
coatings and classical alloy coatings concerning their structure and chemical
and phase composition. It was found that the change of frequency modulation and
the post-annealing process contributed to the increase in the hardness of the
material in the case of HEA coatings.
