2-mu m-thick CrN-Ag composite coatings containing 22 at.% Ag were deposited on Si(001) by reactive co-sputtering at T-s = 300, 400, and 500 degrees C. Subsequent vacuum annealing at T-a = 425, 525, and 625 degrees C causes Ag transport to the surface. Auger electron spectroscopy and plan-view microscopy are used to quantify the Ag transport to the surface, which increases strongly with increasing Delta T = T-a - T-s. Compositional depth profiles and cross-sectional microscopy show that annealing causes a negligible Ag gradient through the composite layer, suggesting that the Ag transport is detachment-limited as opposed to diffusion-limited. Statistical analyses of Ag aggregate size-distributions within the matrix show that large aggregates (>= 50 nm) are unaffected by annealing, while the Ag in a large fraction of small aggregates (<50 nm) moves to the surface, leaving behind 10-50 nm wide voids in the annealed composite. This indicates that the Ag from the smaller grains, with a higher chemical potential and thus a higher detachment rate, is transferred to the large grains on the surface which are 200-1000 nm wide. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.