Amorphous-CuTa/amorphous-CoZrNb multilayers: Structure, mechanical properties and thermal stability

CuTa/CoZrNb multilayers were prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering. The structure, mechanical properties and thermal stability were investigated by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, vacuum annealing and nanoindentation. The results show that the as-deposited multilayers possess amorphous/amorphous structure. The amorphous feature leads to the lack of hardness enhancement with decreasing modulation periodicity, which can be attributed to the absence of the dislocation movement. After thermal annealing, the density increases due to the decrease of the bond distance and the annihilation of defects with increasing annealing temperature. The densification results in the enhancement of the elastic modulus and hardness. The enhancement for the multilayers with smaller modulation periodicity is more sensitive to thermal annealing because of larger volume fraction of interfaces.     

Evaluating modulus and hardness enhancement in evaporated Cu/W multilayers

The microstructure, hardness and elastic modulus of Cu/W multilayers prepared by evaporation deposition were investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nanoindenation. The results show that the multilayers with good modulation structure have asymmetrical interfaces. The W on Cu interfaces are relatively sharp, while the Cu on W interfaces are diffuse, with significant intermixing. The intermixing results in compression of the out-of-plane interplanar spacing of the W layer. The compression increases with decreasing periodicity and leads to modulus enhancement. The hardness values also increase with decreasing periodicity, which is interpreted by the Lehoczky model.     

Thermal stability of microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni/Ru multilayers

The microstructure, hardness and thermal stability of Ni/Ru multilayers prepared by evaporation deposition were investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, vacuum annealing and nanoindenation. The hardness values of as deposited multilayers increase, while their elastic modulus values decrease, with decreasing periodicity. After annealing at low temperature (below 450 °C), the decrease in hardness of multilayers with larger periodicity is more remarkable than that of multilayers with smaller periodicity due to coarsening of the in-plane grain size. The higher temperature (600 °C) annealing results in the breakdown of the periodical structure and a significant drop in hardness for multilayers with smaller periodicity. The results were discussed according to Orowan-type single dislocation bowing mechanism.     

Nanoindentation study of amorphous-Co79Zr13Nb8/Cr multilayers

The mechanical properties of Co₇₉Zr₁₃Nb₈/Cr multilayers were investigated using nanoindentation. The hardness is higher than the average value calculated by rule-of-mixture. The hardness and the resistance to plastic deformation characterized by the ratio of H³/E² vary similarly with periodicity (Λ). They all arrive to the maximum at Λ = 8 nm and decrease subsequently when the Λ increases. The hardness dependence on the Λ is fitted by Hall-Petch relation. The fitted index n is much lower than the normal value (~ 0.5) in many crystalline multilayers. The mutual restriction of shear band and dislocation in amorphous/crystalline structure, which is named structure barrier strengthening, should be main mechanism for the hardness enhancement. The SEM study of indents shows that the shear bands are distorted significantly at the smaller Λ (4 nm) and disappear at the larger Λ (> 20 nm). This morphology variation implies a potential improvement of plasticity caused by the restriction effect of the Cr crystalline layers on the shear bands propagation.     

Microstructure and nanoindentation hardness of Ag/Fe multilayers

Ag/Fe multilayers with well compositional modulation periodicity of 4-60 nm were prepared at room temperature by evaporation deposition using an ultra high vacuum (UHV) chamber. Their microstructure and hardness were investigated using XRD, TEM and nanoindentation. The fcc/bcc type multilayers show a textured polycrystalline growth with Ag (111) and Fe (110) in Ag layers and Fe layers, respectively. The hardness increases with decreasing periodicity and approaches the maximum of 6.36 GPa at the periodicity ...     

调制周期对Ti/TiB_2多层膜的结构和力学性能的影响

采用磁控溅射法制备了Ti/TiB_2周期性(T=2,3,4,6,12)多层膜,利用X射线衍射仪、场发射扫描电子显微镜分析了薄膜的相结构和表面(断面)形貌,采用纳米压痕仪、多功能摩擦摩损试验机和显微硬度计研究了多层膜的纳米硬度、弹性模量、膜基结合力以及断裂韧性。结果表明:Ti/TiB_2多层膜具有清晰的纳米层状结构,薄膜表面致密平整,与基体保持着良好的物理结合。多层膜的硬度和弹性模量随着调制周期的增加而增大,在周期T=12时,多层膜的硬度和弹性模量达到最大值,分别为35.8和349 GPa;多层膜的断裂韧性随着周期的增加呈现出先增大而后减小的趋势,当周期T=6时多层膜的断裂韧性最好,其断裂韧度为2.17 MPa·m~(1/2)。分析认为多层膜中的Ti子层可使裂纹尖端产生钝化作用,从而引起裂纹扩展路径发生偏转,提高了多层膜的断裂韧性。     

Si_3N_4/CrN nanostructured multilayers grown by RF reactive magnetron sputtering

1　INTRODUCTIONInrecentyears ,ceramicsuperhardnesscomposi tionally modulatedmultilayerfilmshavebeenactivelyinvestigated[18] .Theresearchresultsshowthatmul tilayerscancombinethepropertiesoftheconstituentmaterialsandhavemoreexcellent propertiesthanthoseofthesingle layerfilm .Alargenumberofin ternalinterfaceswhichare paralleltothesubstratesurfacecanretardcrackpropagationandprovidebar rierstodislocationmovement.Multilayerswithopti mizedinterfaceareasseemtobemostpromisingwithrespecttoanoptimum…     

双槽电沉积法制备Cu/Ag纳米多层膜

双槽电沉积法制备了不同调制波长的Cu/Ag金属多层膜(Cu膜和Ag膜等厚),用扫描电子显微镜观察了多层膜的层状结构,并研究了不同调制波长下多层膜的显微硬度变化.结果表明:双槽电沉积法制备的Cu/Ag多层膜层状结构明显.当调制波长大于100 nm时,显微硬度随调制波长减小而增加;当小于100 nm时,硬度随调制波长减小而...     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of TiN/AlN multilayers deposited by filtered vacuum arc deposition

Nanometer TiN/AlN multilayers were prepared on silicon substrate by filtered vacuum arc deposition.The structures of the nanometer TiN/AlN multilayer were studied by using X-ray diffraction. The 12 nm TiN/AlN multiplayer is composed of cubic TiN structure and hexagonal wurzite AlN structure, but the 2 nm period multilayer is composed of face centered cubic structure TiN and AlN with strong (200) texture. The surface roughness, hardness and elastic modulus of multilayer are dependent on the period of multilayer. The hardness of the TiN/AlN multilayers is higher than that suggested by a simple rule of mixture. The peaking hardness of nanometer TiN/AlN multilayers at period of 2 nm is about 42 GPa, much higher than that of 12 nm. The wear resistance of the nanometer TiN/AlN multilayers was also studied.     

Elastic modulus of nanocrystalline cemented carbide

The purposes of this work were to obtain the accurate elastic modulus of the nanocrystalline WC–Co cemented carbides, and to propose the mechanism for the difference of elastic modulus between the nanocrystalline and conventional polycrystalline cemented carbides. The nanocrystalline cemented carbide was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The conventional polycrystalline cemented carbides were prepared by SPS and sinter-HIP techniques as references, respectively. The sintered cemented carbides were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy with precession electron diffraction technology. The elastic modulus was obtained by averaging the values measured with the continuous stiffness measurement method of the nanoindentation technology. The results show that the nanocrystalline cemented carbide has a relatively low modulus, which could be attributed to the more interface area and higher fraction ratio of the hcp cobalt phase caused by the rapid heating and cooling process during SPS.     

Structural transition and magnetic properties of evaporated Fe/Gd multilayers

Fe/Gd multilayers were prepared by alternate vapor deposition of pure Fe and Gd at a rate of 0.01-0.03 nm/s in an ultra-high-vacuum electron-gun evaporation system.The effects of the constituent metal layer thickness on the microstructures and magnetic properties of the films were investigated by low angle X-ray diffraction,transmission electron microscopy,and vibrating sample magnetometer.The experimental results show that a transition from the polycrystalline to amorphous state in the Fe layers occurs with the decrease of Fe layer thickness in the Fe/Gd multilayers.The saturation magnetization of the muitilayers reduces significantly with decreasing Fe layer thickness and increasing Gd layer thickness.A superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature is observed for the [Fe(0.6 nm)/Gd(4.0 nm)]15 multilayer due to the formation of discontinuous Fe layers.     

Characterization of nanostructured Cr2Nx/Cu multilayers deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering

Nitride/metal nanostructured multilayers of Cr₂N_x/Cu were deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering with various bilayer periods (2.5-30 nm) and substrate temperatures (25-400 °C). All films had a total thickness of about 470 nm and the overall chemical composition of the chromium nitride layers was close to Cr₂N_0.8. The deposited films were characterized by Rutherford Backscattering (RBS), low-angle X-ray reflectivity (XRR), high-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hardness and elastic modulus were measured by nanoindentation. The films deposited at 25 °C had a well-defined multilayer structure and the chromium nitride layers were found to crystallize into N-deficient fcc CrN_0.4 with traces of hexagonal Cr₂N_0.8. The layers were strongly textured with fcc CrN_0.4[002] and Cu[002] oriented along the growth direction — the fcc CrN_0.4 and Cu grains growing with a cube-on-cube relationship. The measured hardness values were about 8 GPa, and showed no dependence on the bilayer period. Higher deposition temperatures caused the multilayer structure to degrade, and at 400 °C the films were better described as non-textured nanocomposites with the chromium nitride crystallized entirely into the equilibrium hexagonal Cr₂N_0.8 structure. Hardness values of the high-temperature films in the range of 4-8 GPa were measured. Multilayer films deposited at 25 °C were found to be thermally stable against post-deposition annealing at temperatures up to about 400 °C. Annealing at 500 °C caused severe structural changes — the fcc CrN_0.4 phase transformed into hexagonal Cr₂N_0.8 accompanied by degradation of the periodic multilayer structure. The hardness decreased from the originally 8 GPa to about 5 GPa upon annealing.     

Synthesis of nanoscale multilayered ZrN/W2N multilayered coatings by magnetron sputtering

ZrN/W₂N multilayered coatings with nanoscale modulation period in an ultra-high vacuum rf magnetron sputter chamber. XRD, SEM, Nano Indenter and profiler were employed to investigate the influence of modulation periods and working pressures on structural and mechanical properties of the coatings. The low-angle XRD pattern and cross-sectional SEM indicated a well-defined composition modulation and layer structure of the multilayered coating. All multilayered coatings revealed higher hardness than the rule-of-mixtures value of monolithic ZrN and W₂N coatings at different working pressures. The maximum hardness was up to 34 GPa. The multilayers obtained mixed polycrystalline textures of ZrN(111), W₂N(111), W₂N(200) and W₂N(311). 0.8 Pa was an optimum working pressure for mechanical property enhancement.     

TiN/ZrO2 multilayers synthesized on GCr15 bearing steel using plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition

TiN/ZrO₂ multilayers with different modulation periods were synthesized on GCr15 bearing steel using plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID). The total thickness of the TiN/ZrO₂ multilayers was approximately 2 μm and the modulation period was varied from 8 to 400 nm. The as-deposited films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro-hardness, friction, scratch and corrosion tests. The SEM result indicates that the structure of the TiN/ZrO₂ multilayers has a good periodicity. Micro-hardness testing results show that the hardness enhancement effect takes place at the specific period of 15 nm, 100 nm and 200 nm. In addition, the friction coefficient declined from 0.8 to 0.1-0.3 and the cut-through number was increased greatly. The critical load in the scratch test exceeds 100 N, which shows a high adhesion strength. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of the TiN/ZrO₂ multilayers was improved significantly at the modulation period of 100 nm and 200 nm.     

Novel dye-sensitized solar cell architecture using TiO_2-coated Ag nanowires array as photoanode

With the aim of reducing series resistance and increasing dye loading, novel dye-sensitized solar cell architecture was designed with TiO_2 nanoparticle-coated Ag nanowires array as the photoanode. Ag nanowire array was prepared by anodic aluminum oxide(AAO) templateassisted electrochemical deposition route. Then, Ag nanowires were coated by TiO_2 nanoparticles in hydrothermal process. The structures of the photoanode were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM). Ag nanowires are covered by a layer of very fine nanoparticles with a diameter of less than 5 nm. X-ray diffraction(XRD) and selected-area electron diffraction(SAED) show that Ag nanowires have a strong preferred orientation in(220) direction and the TiO_2 coating layer is a polycrystalline structure. With this photoanode, 3.2%conversion efficiency is achieved for the cell sensitized with N3 dye.     

Effect of applied dc bias voltage on composition, chemical bonding and mechanical properties of carbon nitride films prepared by PECVD

Carbon nitride films were deposited on Si (100) substrates using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique from CH4 and N2 at different applied dc bias voltage. The microstructure, composition and chemical bonding of the resulting films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanical properties such as hardness and elastic modulus of the films were evaluated using nano-indentation. As the results, the Raman spectra, showing the G and D bands, indicate the amorphous structure of the films. XPS and FTIR measurements demonstrate the existence of various carbon-nitride bonds in the films and the hydrogenation of carbon nitride phase. The composition ratio of N to C, the nano-hardness and the elastic modulus of the carbon nitride films increase with increasing dc bias voltage and reach the maximums at a dc bias voltage of 300 V, then they decrease with further increase of the dc bias voltage. Moreover, the XRD analyses indicate that the carbon nitride film contains some polycrystalline C3N4 phase embedded in the amorphous matrix at optimized deposition condition of dc bias voltage of 300 V.     

Density functional study of the mechanical and phonon properties of Al12X (X = Mo,Tc, Ru,W, Re,and Os) compounds

By means of first principles calculations, we have studied the structural, elastic, and phonon properties of the Al₁₂X (X = Mo, Tc, Ru, W, Re, and Os) compounds in cubic structure. The elastic constants of these compounds are calculated, then bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, Possion's ratio, Debye temperature, hardness, and anisotropy value of polycrystalline aggregates are derived and relevant mechanical properties are compared with the available theoretical ones. Furthermore, the phonon dispersion curves, mode Grüneisen parameters, and thermo-dynamical properties such as free energy, entropy and heat capacity are computed and the obtained results are discussed in detail.     

Oxygen-penetration-induced large hardness enhancement in nanoscale Nb/Ti multilayers

Nb/Ti multilayers with different modulation periods were prepared by magnetron sputtering deposition. Microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated by XRD, SEM and Nanoindentation. It turns out that hardness of samples increases with decreasing modulation wavelength (Λ) and then dropped at small Λ. Through scrutinizing other results in literature, we found that the coherent stress rather than modulus mismatch played more important role for hardness enhancement with decreasing Λ of the bcc-hcp multilayers. Annealing of samples in low (or high) vacuum at 400 C for 30 min led to large (or medium) enhancement of hardness, while the modulated structure was still maintained. It was found that annealing in low vacuum resulted in oxygen penetration into the multilayers as revealed by auger electron spectroscopy, but hardly changed metallic sheet resistivity. XRD results suggested that some niobium oxides were formed in Nb layers and oxygen distributed interstitially in Ti layers. The large hardness enhancement after annealing is mainly due to the strengthening effect from dispersive distribution of nano-scale niobium oxides and interstitial oxygen in the multilayers. In addition, interfaces between adjacent layers were more distinct after annealing which indicated good thermal stability of laminated structure.     

Fe合金化对Cu36Zr48Ag8Al8非晶合金的组织和力学性能影响

选择Cu36Zr48Ag8Al8BMG作为基体合金,研究Fe元素合金化对组织和力学性能的影响,分析了相分离非晶结构和纳米晶对合金力学行为的作用机理,并利用维氏硬度计考察了 Fe的掺杂对合金各相的相对硬度、塑性和压痕形貌的影响规律。结果表明,TEM衬度的眀相为富Fe相,暗相为富Cu、Ag相,由于具有不同的模量和硬度的相分离两相结构的存在,非晶合金在外力加载时呈应变硬化,而晶粒尺寸<5 nm的纳米晶起到弥散强化作用,使合金的强度进一步提高。维氏压头作用下使准脆性的非晶合金发生显著的塑性变形,非晶相硬度较高,其维氏压痕的周围形成了少量半圆型剪切带,且在同样的塑性变形量,塑性越好,剪切带的数量较多、间距较小。晶相硬度较低,其压痕周围没有裂纹出现     

调制结构对TiN/TaN多层膜的生长行为及力学性能的影响

利用反应磁控溅射方法,制备了调制周期相同而调制比不同的TiN／TaN多层膜．利用XRD,HRTEM和纳米压痕仪分别对多层膜的结构、微观状态和力学性能进行了系统研究．结果表明：调制结构不仅改变多层膜的生长速率,而且能导致多层膜择优生长取向的变化;界面应力的存在使得薄膜生长速率随沉积层厚度的增加而下降;在TiN／TaN多层膜中存在着各自独立外延生长的[111]和[100]两种取向的调制结构,且具有不同的调制周期;调制周期为6nm左右的TiN／TaN多层膜的硬度与弹性模量分别提高约50％与30％;在调制比为3：1时,硬度最大值为34．2GPa,弹性模量为344．9GPa;根据结构和力学性能的分析结果,讨论了TiN／TaN多层膜的硬化机制．