Structure and Mechanical Performance of Nitrogen Doped Diamond-like Carbon Films

Nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon （DLC：N） films were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition （ECR-CVD） on polycrystalline Si chips. Film thickness is about 50 nm. Auger electron spectroscopy （AES） was used to evaluate nitrogen content, and increasing N2 flow improved N content from 0 to 7.6%. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis results reveal CN-sp^3C and N-sp^2C structure. With increasing the N2 flow, sp^3C decreases from 73.74% down to 42.66%, and so does N-sp^3C from 68.04% down to 20.23%. The hardness decreases from 29.18 GPa down to 19.74 GPa, and the Young＇s modulus from 193.03 GPa down to 144.52 GPa.

Effects of platinum content on tribological properties of platinum/nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon thin films deposited via magnetron sputtering

Platinum(Pt)and nitrogen(N)were co-incorporated in diamond-like carbon(DLC)thin films using a magnetron sputtering system to form PtN-DLC thin films for tribological applications.The Pt content in the PtN-DLC films prepared on Si substrates was controlled by varying RF power applied to a Pt target at a fixed N2 flow rate.The tribological properties of the PtN-DLC films were investigated with respect to the Pt content in the films.The uncoated Si substrate surface tested against a steel ball of 6 mm in diameter had significant abrasive and fatigue wear,while no significant wear was found on the N-DLC coated sample surface,indicating that the N-DLC film effectively prevented its underlying Si substrate from wear.However,the incorporation of Pt in the N-DLC films reduced the wear resistance of the films by degrading sp3-bonded cross-linking structures of the films so that significant wear tracks were found on the surfaces of the PtN-DLC films.Therefore,the increased radio frequency(RF)power applied to the Pt target decreased the wear resistance of the PtN-DLC films as a result of the increased Pt content.

Mechanical Properties of Composite SiNx/DLC Films Prepared by Filtered Cathodic Arc of Graphite Incorporated with RF Sputtering of Silicon Nitride

Composite SiNx/DLC films were deposited on Si substrate by RF magnetron sputtering of silicon nitride (Si3N4) target simultaneously with filtered cathode arc (FCA) of graphite. The RF power was fixed at 100 W whereas the arc currents of FCA were 20, 40, 60 and 80 A. The effects of arc current on the structure, surface roughness, density and mechanical properties of SiNx/DLC films were investigated. The results show that the arc current in the studied range has effect on the structure, surface roughness, density and mechanical properties of composite SiNx/DLC films. The composite SiNx/DLC films show the sp3 content between 53.5% and 66.7%, density between 2.54 and2.98 g/cm3, stress between 1.7 and 2.2 GPa, and hardness between 35 and 51 GPa. Furthermore, it was found that the density, stress and hardness correlate linearly with the sp3 content for composite SiNx/DLC films.

The Hardness of Amorphous Si-DLC Films by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Silicon-doped diamond-like carbon （Si-DLC） films possess the potential to improve wear performance of DLC films in humid atmospheres and at higher temperatures. But many experimental results of Si-DLC films show that their structure and mechanical properties have changed greatly with the increasing silicon content. Therefore, molecular dynamics （MD） simulations were used to generate hydrogen-free Si-DLC films and study their nano-indentation process under the interaction of a diamond indenter. The results show that sp3/sp2（C） （only carbon atoms） always decreases with the increasing silicon content. But sp3/sp2（C＋Si） ratio increases firstly and reaches a maximum at the silicon content of 0.2, and then decreases with the further increase of the silicon content. Bulk modulus and hardness of the Si-DLC films both decrease with the increasing of the silicon content, which has the same trend with Papakonstantinou and Ikeyama＇s results. It is concluded that the hardness of the Si-DLC films is dependent on sp3/sp2（C）, not sp3/sp2（C＋Si）.

探针尺寸对Si-DLC薄膜表面粘附和摩擦的影响

采用AFM尖头探针、球头探针和平头探针对Si-DLC膜进行摩擦实验,研究了薄膜的微观摩擦力学性能,探讨了不同接触尺度下薄膜表面粘附力及摩擦产生的机理,建立了不同探针与薄膜表面粗糙峰的接触模型,推导了表面粘附力与接触面积的关系表达式,表明在微观接触中,接触面积对粘附力起着主导作用。尖头探针与薄膜表面的微观摩擦系数取决于表面粗糙峰的斜率,与粗糙峰的高度相关不大;球头探针与薄膜表面的摩擦力主要取决于单位面积接触粗糙峰密度;平头探针与薄膜表面的摩擦力主要取决于外加载荷,表面形貌的微观尺寸效应可忽略。

硅掺杂类金刚石薄膜微米尺度摩擦性能研究

采用微米级别的AFM球头探针对硅掺杂类金刚石薄膜进行了摩擦实验。研究了微米尺度下,外加载荷和扫描速率对薄膜摩擦性能的影响。考虑粘附的影响,提出了适用于微观低载荷接触摩擦力表征的修正Amonton公式。分析了摩擦系数与表面形貌粗糙峰之间的关系,根据薄膜表面粗糙峰的分布,建立了微米尺度下球头探针与薄膜表面粗糙峰的等效接触模型,并推导出了摩擦力f关于载荷参数(p)和形貌参数()的函数表达式f(p,),表明单位面积接触粗糙峰密度对摩擦力大小起着主导作用。所建接触模型成功解释了摩擦实验现象产生的原因。

SiC靶功率密度对无氢掺硅类金刚石薄膜摩擦学性能的影响

采用直流磁控溅射石墨靶、中频磁控溅射碳化硅靶以及离子源辅助的复合沉积技术,制备出膜层质量优异、摩擦因数和磨损率较低的具有不同Si含量的无氢掺硅类金刚石薄膜。使用XPS、拉曼光谱仪、台阶仪、纳米硬度计、SEM、EDS以及球盘式摩擦磨损试验仪测试并表征薄膜的微观结构、力学性能和摩擦学性能。研究表明,该技术能够成功制备出无氢掺硅类金刚石薄膜;随着SiC靶功率密度的增加,薄膜中Si的含量和sp3键的含量逐渐增加,其纳米硬度和弹性模量先增大后减小,摩擦因数由0.277降低至0.066,但其磨损率从6.29×10-11 mm3/Nm增加至1.45×10-9 mm3/Nm;当SiC靶功率密度为1.37W/cm2时,薄膜的纳米硬度与弹性模量分别达到最大值16.82GPa和250.2GPa。