Wear resistant TiMoN coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering

TiMoN coatings with different Mo concentrations were deposited using a reactive magnetron sputtering technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction, nano-indentation, pin-on-disc testing, SEM/EDS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Mo alloying of TiN coatings generally enhances hardness. When tested in a pin-on-disc test against WC-Co pin, the coefficients of friction of TiMoN coatings were found to decrease with the increase in Mo atomic fraction, with the lowest values (0.4-0.5) being only one-half that of TiN coating (1.03). The underlying mechanism of the Mo effect is the formation of lubricious MoO₃ on the wear track. The combination of low coefficient of friction and enhanced hardness reduces the wear rate of TiMoN coatings to less than 2.5% of the wear rate of TiN coating.     

Tribological characterization of tungsten nitride coatings deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

The structure, hardness, friction and wear of tungsten nitrides prepared by d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering were investigated. The coatings were deposited with different nitrogen to argon ratios; the total pressure was kept constant. The tribological tests were performed on a pin-on-disc tribometer in terrestrial atmosphere with 100Cr6 steel, Al₂O₃ and Si₃N₄ balls as sliding counter-bodies. The wear tracks, the ball-wear scars and the wear debris were analysed by scanning electron microscopy in order to characterize the dominant wear mechanisms.The coatings exhibited different phases as a function of the nitrogen content: films with low N content exhibited the α-W phase; β-W phase was dominant for nitrogen contents from 12 to 15 at.% and β-W₂N was observed for nitrogen content higher that 30 at.%. The mechanical and tribological properties of the tungsten nitride coatings were strongly influenced by the structure. The hardness and the Young's modulus values were in the ranges (29–39 GPa) and (300–390 GPa), respectively; the lowest values correspond to the coatings with the highest nitrogen content. Generally, the friction and wear rate of tungsten nitride coatings sliding against ceramic balls increased with nitrogen content reaching a maximum at 12 at.%; further increase of the nitrogen content led to a decrease of the friction and wear. The sliding with the steel balls did not wear the coatings under the selected testing conditions.     

磁控溅射技术进展及应用(上)

近年来磁控溅射技术的应用日趋广泛,在工业生产和科学研究领域发挥巨大作用。随着对具有各种新型功能的薄膜需求的增加,相应的磁控溅射技术也获得进一步的发展。本文将介绍磁控溅射技术的发展,以及闭合磁场非平衡溅射、高速率溅射及自溅射、中频及脉冲溅射等各种新技术及特点,阐述磁控溅射技术在电子、光学、表面功能薄膜、薄膜发光材料等许多方面的应用。     

磁控溅射技术进展及应用(下)

近年来磁控溅射技术的应用日趋广泛,在工业生产和科学研究领域发挥巨大作用。随着对具有各种新型功能的薄膜需求的增加,相应的磁控溅射技术也获得进一步的发展。本文将介绍磁控溅射技术的发展,以及闭合磁场非平衡溅射、高速率溅射及自溅射、中频及脉冲溅射等各种新技术及特点,阐述磁控溅射技术在电子、光学、表面功能薄膜、薄膜发光材料等许多方面的应用。     

多工位磁控溅射镀膜系统膜厚均匀性的研究

本文建立了多工位公自转磁控溅射系统镀膜过程的物理模型,通过把基片运动与镀膜过程的模拟结合在一起,运用时间步长划分的算法仿真公自转系统下矩形靶沉积的三维膜厚分布,并使用同样的方法计算纯自转磁控溅射系统沉积薄膜的厚度分布,最后将两个结果进行对比.研究表明,随着自转与公转速度比例的调节,公自转系统在最优转速比0.5时所制得的薄膜厚度均匀性较纯自转系统得到明显地改善,此结论与实验结果保持一致.     

Friction and wear response of nitride coating deposited through PVD magnetron sputtering

Surface engineering with applied coating plays a vital role in any industrial application. These coatings are meant for better mechanical and tribological characteristics when applied on to the materials. The major challenge in selecting a suitable coating strategy is their input process parameters. There are several parameters which influences the coating properties, but it is hard to choose one of them and ignoring others. Multilayers of tungsten nitride are attracting great interest to modulate their tribological and mechanical properties through physical vapour deposition process due to their wide application range. These multilayer nitride films were deposited through unbalanced reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The tribological tests were performed on a pin-on-disc tribometer at room temperature and it has been observed that friction and wear values reduce drastically while applying multilayer coatings. Later, artificial neural network (ANN) is employed to optimize the tribological properties of sputtered coatings.     

A power supply for magnetron sputtering systems

A design and electric circuits of the power supply for magnetron sputtering systems with a power of up to 5 kW are described. The power supply is intended for operation in direct-current (DC) or pulse modes with a pulse repetition rate of up to 100 kHz. The arc suppression system limits the energy delivered to the arc discharge at about 110 mJ in the DC mode and 9 mJ in the pulse mode, respectively. The possibilities of optimizing coatings by selecting working parameters of the power supply were demonstrated by the example of thin-film coatings of two types (Ag and Ga-doped ZnO thin films).     

Target cleaning for faster CrN/AlN coating growth in magnetron sputtering

Metallic sputtering may be used to clean the target surface in the course of coating application by reactive magnetron sputtering. The introduction of additional stages of metallic sputtering in reactive magnetron sputtering increases the growth rate of CrN/AlN coatings by around 23%, with little change in physicomechanical properties.     

Tribological behavior of TiN films depositid by reactive magnetron sputtering under low pressure

The effect of deposition conditions on the tribological behavior of titanium nitride thin films produced by reactive magnetron sputtering has been studied. Dependences of the hardness, the width of the friction track, the friction coefficient, and the volume wear of the TiN films on the N₂ reactive gas flow rate have been obtained. Conditions of deposition under which the coatings with the best tribological characteristics are formed have been determined.     

Anti-oxidant mechanism of TiAlN/SiN decorative films on borosilicate glass by magnetron sputtering

The black TiAlN decorative film was prepared on the borosilicate glass by the magnetron sputtering in equipment with multiple vacuum chambers. The transparent SiN protective layer was deposited on the surface of the TiAlN film to keep the black color invariant at the high temperature. The structure of the TiAlN/SiN film was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The coating adhesion was measured by scratch tester. The TiAlN film has a columnar crystal structure with a thickness of 200 nm, and the top SiN layer is amorphous with a thickness of 100 nm. The coated borosilicate glass with the TiAlN/SiN films still retains the black color after oxidation at 600 °C in atmosphere. While the oxidation temperature elevates to 700 °C, the color of the TiAlN/SiN films begins to change. The top SiN layer plays a role as the barrier against oxygen diffusion into the inner TiAlN layer. The thin self-formed aluminum oxide layer was generated on the surface of the SiN layer and it contributes to the improvement of anti-oxidant property of the inner TiAlN layer. However, the thick self-formed aluminum oxide layer leads to the color change of the black TiAlN film. The thermal oxidation benefits the improvement of the adhesion for the TiAlN/SiN films with glass substrate.     

Microstructure of MmM(5)/Mg multi-layer hydrogen storage films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Multi-layer hydrogen storage thin films with Mg and MmNi3.5(CoAlMn)1.5 (here Mm denotes La-rich mischmetal) as alternative layers were prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering. Transmission electron microscopy investigation shows that the microstructure of the MmNi3.5(CoAlMn)1.5 and Mg layers are significantly different although their deposition conditions are the same. The MmNi3.5(CoAlMn)1.5 layer is composed of two regions: one is an amorphous region approximately 4 nm thick at the bottom of the layer and the other is a nanocrystalline region on top of the amorphous region. The Mg layer is also composed of two regions: one is a randomly orientated nanocrystalline region 50 nm thick at the bottom of the layer and the other is a columnar crystallite region on top of the nanocrystalline region. These Mg columnar crystallites have their [001] directions parallel to the growth direction and the average lateral size of these columnar crystallites is about 100 nm. A growth mechanism of the multi-layer thin films is discussed based on the experiment results.     

A comparative study of thin coatings of Au/Pd, Pt and Cr produced by magnetron sputtering for FE-SEM

Visualization of structural details of specimens in field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) requires optimal conductivity. This paper reports on the differences in conductive layers of Au/Pd, Pt and Cr, with a thickness of 1.5–3.0 nm, deposited by planar magnetron sputtering devices. The coating units were used under standard conditions for source–substrate distance, current, HT and argon pressure. Carbon films, deposited by high-vacuum evaporation on small, freshly cleaved pieces of mica, were used as substrate and mounted on copper grids for TEM and SEM inspection. Au/Pd, Pt and, to a lesser extent, Cr coatings varied in particle density, size and shape. Au/Pd coatings have a slightly more granular appearance than Cr and Pt coatings, but this is strongly dependent on the type of sputtering device employed. In FE-SEM images there is almost no difference in contrast and particle size between the Au/Pd layer and the Pt layers of a similar thickness. The nuclei of Au/Pd are rather small with almost no growth to the sides or in height, making Au/Pd coatings a good alternative to chromium and platinum for FE-SEM of biological tissues because of its higher yield of secondary electrons.     

Performances of interferometric optical transmission diagnostic for in situ and real-time control of magnetron sputtering deposition process

A convenient and simple in situ and real-time method to control PVD processes for transparent thin films deposition on transparent substrate is described in this paper. This method designed for the glass industry and tested today in on-line monitoring, allows to control the thickness and complex indices and then the good running of the treatment. This method consists of a simple measurement of the interferential transmission through the substrate and the deposit. After recalling the principles of this classical method, the optical sensitivity parameters linked with the use of an inverse calculation method are evaluated and commented on. It is shown that, as expected when the refraction index values of the deposited material are close to those of the substrate, the sensitivity of the process control is low. It is often the case for the deposits used in the glass industry. Nevertheless to exploit this very useful method of process control, a solution currently tested on production lines is described here. To boost the sensitivity of the interferential transmission diagnostic it is shown that the measurements can be made through a high refractive index thin film layer, pre-deposited on the substrate with an adequate thickness.     

热处理对离子束溅射Ta_2O_5薄膜特性的影响

利用离子束溅射沉积技术制备了Ta2O5薄膜,在100~600℃的大气氛围中对其进行热处理(步进温度为100℃),并对热处理后样品的光学常数(折射率、折射率非均匀性、消光系数和物理厚度)、应力、晶向和表面形貌进行了研究。研究显示,随着热处理温度增加,薄膜折射率整体呈下降趋势,折射率非均匀性和物理厚度呈增加趋势,结果有效地改善了薄膜的消光系数和应力,但薄膜的晶向和表面形貌均未出现明显的变化。结果表明:热处理可以有效改变薄膜特性,但需要根据Ta2O5薄膜具体应用综合选择最优的热处理温度。本文对离子束溅射Ta2O5薄膜的热处理参数选择具有指导意义。     

A magnetron sputtering system for the preparation of patterned thin films and in situ thin film electrical resistance measurements

We describe a versatile three gun magnetron sputtering system with a custom made sample holder for in situ electrical resistance measurements, both during film growth and ambient changes on film electrical properties. The sample holder allows for the preparation of patterned thin film structures, using up to five different shadow masks without breaking vacuum. We show how the system is used to monitor the electrical resistance of thin metallic films during growth and to study the thermodynamics of hydrogen uptake in metallic thin films. Furthermore, we demonstrate the growth of thin film capacitors, where patterned films are created using shadow masks.     

Design and capabilities of an experimental setup based on magnetron sputtering for formation and deposition of size-selected metal clusters on ultra-clean surfaces

The design and performance of an experimental setup utilizing a magnetron sputtering source for production of beams of ionized size-selected clusters for deposition in ultra-high vacuum is described. For the case of copper cluster formation the influence of different source parameters is studied and analyzed. Size-selected clusters are deposited on substrates and the efficiency of an electrostatic quadrupole mass selector is tested. Height analysis using atomic force microscopy (AFM) demonstrates relative standard size deviations of 7%-10% for the particles of various sizes between 6 nm and 19 nm. Combined analysis by AFM and transmission electron microscopy reveals that the clusters preserve almost spherical shape after the deposition on amorphous carbon substrates. Supported nanoparticles of a few nanometres in diameter have crystalline structure with a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice.     

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon films for tribological applications II. Films deposited on aluminium alloys and steel

This paper describes the methods for the deposition of AHC films on aluminium alloys (2024, 7075 and an additional Al-Si alloy) and AISI 4340 steel. Both unmodified and silicon modified AHC films were deposited. AHC films could be deposited on aluminium alloys without any interlayer. The deposition of AHC films on steel required an interlayer which could be aluminium, silicon or chromium. Thin films (1–2 μm) deposited on aluminium alloys and steel influenced durability of films and friction coefficients in contact with steel. These were believed to be due to plastic deformation of substrates. Deposition of a thicker coating system (interlayer + AHC) reduced friction coefficients and also improved film durability. The durability of films deposited on steel substrates was evaluated under both unlubricated and lubricated conditions for 5.5 million cycles under 4.4 N load and up to 2.5 m/s sliding speed. Although there was wear, the films survived 5.5 million test cycles under unlubricated sliding, but in the presence of two lubricants, the film wear was very small and could not be measured. It was observed that the wear of the steel counterface in contact with silicon-containing AHC films could be higher than that against an uncoated steel in the presence of certain lubricants.     

The weldability study of carbon nanotube based 2nd generation primer coated steel for automotive applications

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - The selection and application of the type coating to steel sheets in automotive industries depend on factors like corrosion protection, manufacturing...     

Collection method for extra aligned nanofibers deposited by electrospinning

Electrospinning is a very promising nanotechnology method, mostly thanks to industrial scale up ability, relatively low purchase cost, and huge variability. Nevertheless, its principal disadvantage is the way in which the individual nanofibers are randomly deposited while being collected onto a collector after passing through the chaotic whipping phase. Present and future applications of nanomaterials will need their precise, ordered intrinsic structures, or may even require accurately determined anisotropic properties because of significant improvement of material properties such as mechanical, electronic, optical, etc. This work demonstrates a novel and advanced collector including a sliding board mechanism. The resulting nanofibrous materials obtain extremely high orientation order parameter (S > 97%). Other important advantages of this technological method are discussed here in more detail.     

A study of the friction and wear performance of MoSx thin films produced by ion beam enhanced deposition and magnetron sputtering

MoS_x thin films were deposited by ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) and magnetron sputtering (MS) onto the surface of IBEN Si₃N₄ and TiN thin films. The friction and wear performances of thin films and 52100 steel were compared using an SRV model reciprocating testing machine. The results showed that all MoS_x films exhibit good tribological behavior. The MS MoS_x thin film has better wear resistance and the IBED MoS_x film has a longer wear life. The wear resistance of IBED Si₃N₄ and TiN thin film plus MoS_x film is 3–4 times and 8–20 times that of single IBED Si₃N₄ and TiN thin films and 52100 steel respectively. The analyses indicate that the difference in friction and wear performance between the two kinds of MoS_x thin film is determined by the x value of MoS_x, its microstructure and the atom mixing effect at the interface.