Patent ID: 7758950

Claim:
A surface-coated cutting tool, comprising: a base material; and a coated film formed on said base material; wherein said coated film serves as an outermost layer on said base material, has compressive stress, and is formed from a carbide, a nitride, an oxide, a carbonitride, an oxycarbide, an oxynitride, or a carbide-nitride-oxide of at least one element selected from IVa-group elements, Va-group elements, VIa-group elements in the element periodic table, Al, B, Si and Ge, or a solid solution thereof, said compressive stress is varied so as to have strength distribution in a direction of thickness of said coated film, and said strength distribution is characterized in that the compressive stress of said coated film continuously increases from a surface of said coated film toward a first intermediate point located between said surface of said coated film and a bottom surface of said coated film and the compressive stress attains a relative maximum point at said first intermediate point.