## 1 Introduction  
High entropy alloys (HEAs), which are solid solution alloys with five or more elements, maintain a relatively simple phase due to high configurational entropy [1, 2]. In particular, the outstanding mechanical and high thermal properties of HEAs are expected to be applied to various structural materials such as tools, dies, molds, and furnace materials. Bulk materials manufactured by commercial casting or sintering have a size limitation [3]. On the other hand, when HEAs are used as a coating material, less amount of HEAs could be used cost-effectively and provides functionality to the surface [4]. AISI 304 stainless steel has a wide range of applications as a structural material due to its good formability and weldability, high corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, and good toughness. However, the material requires a hard facing to overcome the disadvantages of lack of hardness and poor wear resistance. When Ti is added to the face-centered-cubic (FCC) HEAs, body-centered-cubic (BCC) HEAs, which have higher hardness and wear performance due to the cocktail effect, are formed [5]. In addition, TiC is one of the most used reinforcing materials due to its high mechanical properties, chemical stability, and good wettability with Co, Ni, and Fe-based alloys [6]. Therefore, the use of Ti is expected to form TiC phase and strengthen the matrix, resulting in an excellent metal matrix composite (MMC) coating layer. MMC coatings are prepared using various processes, such as gas tungsten arc cladding (GTAC) [7, 8], plasma transferred arc [9], thermal spray [10], etc. In particular, the coatingsfabricated using laser cladding have the advantages of a fast cooling rate, narrow heat-affected zone, and strong interfacial bonding. The MMC manufacturing method is divided into two types, depending on whether reinforcing particles are added: the ex situ process for directly supplying the premixed reinforcing particles with metal powder and the in situ process in which the reinforcing particles are formed during the process by the reaction [11]. In the in situ synthesis method, the size of the reinforcing particles could be as small as a few microns or less, and various morphologies could be controlled by the process conditions. There have been several attempts to develop and control the microstructure of TiC reinforcing particles in the coating layer using cladding. A study by [PERSON] et al. [12] found that the most crucial factor controlling the microstructure of a TiC-containing cladding layer was the dilution rate. A high dilution rate resulted in the development of dendritic structures, resulting in a rich melt pool from a high Fe content, showing lower liquidus temperature on phase equilibrium. In the study by [PERSON] et al. [13], when the added TiC fraction was low, TiC dissolved by dilution with the metal matrix. The remaining particles showed that a dendritic structure developed under at a fast cooling rate. As the TiC fraction increased, the spherical morphology was developed, and characteristics were inhomogeneous due to randomly aggregated spherical particles [14]. In [PERSON]'s work [15], pulsed lasers were employed to suppress dendritic microstructures that degrade mechanical properties. Particle morphologies were controlled under specific pulse conditions with a uniform distribution of carbon through the Marangoni convection flow. However, even under the same conditions, the temperature gradient and solidification rate vary with the depth of the melt pool, and the particle morphology was also different [16; 17]. In the study by [PERSON] [18], a MMC coating with FeMnCrNiCo high-entropy metal and TiC reinforcing particles using the ex situ method was fabricated using laser cladding. Gibbs free energy using thermodynamic calculations was employed to investigate the possibility of the formation of other carbides during the process. The coating layer adding 15 wt% of TiC had a hardness value of 288 HV.