Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Ti-B-N coatings deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Ternary Ti-B-N coatings were synthesized on AISI 304 and Si wafer by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique using a gaseous mixture of TiCl4,BCl3,H2,N2,and Ar.By virtue of X-ray diffraction analysis,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,scanning electron microscope,and high-resolution transmission electron microscope,the influences of B content on the microstructure and properties of Ti B N coatings were investigated systematically.The results indicated that the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-B-N coatings largely depend on the transformation from FCC-TiN phase to HCP-TiB2 phase.With increasing B content and decreasing N content in the coatings,the coating microstructure evolves gradually from FCC-TiN/a-BN to HCP-TiB2 /a-BN via FCC-TiN+HCP-TiB2/a-BN.The highest microhardness of about 34 GPa is achieved,which corresponds to the nanocomposite Ti-63%B-N (mole fraction) coating consisting of the HCP-TiB2 nano-crystallites and amorphous BN phase.The lowest friction-coefficient was observed for the nanocomposite Ti-41%B-N (mole fraction) coating consisting of the FCC-TiN nanocrystallites and amorphous BN

Characteristics and Electrical Properties of SiNx:H Films Fabricated by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

SiNx：H films with different N/Si ratios are synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition （PECVD）. Composition and structure characteristics are detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. It indicates that Si-N bonds increase with increased NH3/SiH4 ratio. Electrical property investigations by I-V measurements show that the prepared films offer higher resistivity and less leakage current with increased N/Si ratio and exhibit entirely insulating properties when N/Si ratio reaches 0.9, which is ascribed to increased Si-N bonds achieved.

Edge effect during microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition diamond-film:Multiphysics simulation and experimental verification

This study focused on the investigation of the edge effect of diamond films deposited by microwave plasma chemical vapor de-position.Substrate bulge height△h is a factor that affects the edge effect,and it was used to simulate plasma and guide the diamond-film deposition experiments.Finite-element software COMSOL Multiphysics was used to construct a multiphysics(electromagnetic,plasma,and fluid heat transfer fields)coupling model based on electron collision reaction.Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were performed to characterize the experimental growth and validate the model.The simulation results reflected the experimental trends observed.Plasma discharge at the edge of the substrate accelerated due to the increase in△h(△h=0-3 mm),and the values of electron density(n_(c)),molar concentration of H(C_(H)),and molar concentration of CH_(3)(C_(CH_(3)))doubled at the edge(for the special concave sample with△h=−1 mm,the active chemical groups exhibited a decreased molar concentration at the edge of the substrate).At=0-3 mm,a high diamond growth rate and a large diamond grain size were observed at the edge of the substrate,and their values increased with.The uniformity of film thickness decreased with.The Raman spectra of all samples revealed the first-order characteristic peak of dia-mond near 1332 cm^(−1).When△h=−1 mm,tensile stress occurred in all regions of the film.When△h=1-3 mm,all areas in the film ex-hibited compressive stress.

Fabrication of Graphene/Cu Composite by Chemical Vapor Deposition and Effects of Graphene Layers on Resultant Electrical Conductivity

Graphene(Gr)has unique properties including high electrical conductivity;Thus,graphene/copper(Gr/Cu)composites have attracted increasing attention to replace traditional Cu for electrical applications. However,the problem of how to control graphene to form desired Gr/Cu composite is not well solved. This paper aims at exploring the best parameters for preparing graphene with different layers on Cu foil by chemical vapor deposition(CVD)method and studying the effects of different layers graphene on Gr/Cu composite’s electrical conductivity. Graphene grown on single-sided and double-sided copper was prepared for Gr/Cu and Gr/Cu/Gr composites. The resultant electrical conductivity of Gr/Cu composites increased with decreasing graphene layers and increasing graphene volume fraction. The Gr/Cu/Gr composite with monolayer graphene owns volume fraction of less than 0.002%,producing the best electrical conductivity up to59.8 ×10^(6)S/m,equivalent to 104.5% IACS and 105.3% pure Cu foil.

Direct low-temperature synthesis of graphene on various glasses by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition for versatile, cost-effective electrodes

Catalyst-free and scalable synthesis of graphene on various glass substrates at low temperatures is of paramount significance to numerous applications such as low-cost transparent electronics and state-of-the-art displays. However, systematic study within this promising research field has remained scarce thus far. Herein, we report the direct growth of graphene on various glasses using a low-temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. Such a facile and scalable approach guarantees the growth of uniform, transfer-free graphene films on various glass substrates at a growth temperature range of 400-600 ℃. The morphological, surface wetting, optical, and electrical properties of the obtained graphene can be tailored by controlling the growth parameters. Our uniform and high-quality graphene films directly integrated with low-cost, commonly used glasses show great potential in the fabrication of multi-functional electrodes for versatile applications in solar cells, transparent electronics, and smart windows.

Effects of various substrate materials on structural and optical properties of amorphous silicon nitride thin films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

The plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition(PECVD)technique is well suited for fabricating optical filters with continuously variable refractive index profiles;however,it is not clear how the optical and structural properties of thin films differ when deposited on different substrates.Herein,silicon nitride films were deposited on silicon,fused silica,and glass substrates by PECVD,using silane and ammonia,to investigate the effects of the substrate used on the optical properties and structures of the films.All of the deposited films were amorphous.Further,the types and amounts of Si-centered tetrahedral Si–SivN4-v bonds formed were based upon the substrates used;Si–N4 bonds with higher elemental nitrogen content were formed on Si substrates,which lead to obtaining higher refractive indices,and the Si–SiN3 bonds were mainly formed on glass and fused silica substrates.The refractive indices of the films formed on the different substrates had a maximum difference of0.05(at 550 nm),the refractive index of SiNx films formed on silicon substrates was 1.83,and the refractive indices of films formed on glass were very close to those formed on fused silica.The deposition rates of these SiNx films are similar,and the extinction coefficients of all the films were lower than 10-4.

Uniform deposition of ultra-thin TiO_(2) film on mica substrate by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition: Effect of precursor concentration

The performance of pearlescent pigment significantly affected by the grain size and the roughness of deposited film. The effect of TiCl_(4) concentration on the initial deposition of TiO_(2) on mica by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition(APCVD) was investigated. The precursor concentration significantly affected the deposition and morphology of TiO_(2) grains assembling the film. The deposition time for fully covering the surface of mica decreased from 120 to 10 s as the TiCl_(4) concentration increased from 0.38%to 2.44%. The grain size increased with the TiCl_(4) concentration. The AFM and TEM analysis demonstrated that the aggregation of TiO_(2) clusters at the initial stage finally result to the agglomeration of fine TiO_(2) grains at high TiCl_(4) concentrations. Following the results, it was suggested that the nucleation density and size was easy to be adjusted when the TiCl_(4) concentration is below 0.90%.

Controllable growth of wafer-scale PdS and PdS_(2) nanofilms via chemical vapor deposition combined with an electron beam evaporation technique

Palladium(Pd)-based sulfides have triggered extensive interest due to their unique properties and potential applications in the fields of electronics and optoelectronics.However,the synthesis of large-scale uniform PdS and PdS_(2)nanofilms(NFs)remains an enormous challenge.In this work,2-inch wafer-scale PdS and PdS_(2) NFs with excellent stability can be controllably prepared via chemical vapor deposition combined with electron beam evaporation technique.The thickness of the pre-deposited Pd film and the sulfurization temperature are critical for the precise synthesis of PdS and PdS_(2) NFs.A corresponding growth mechanism has been proposed based on our experimental results and Gibbs free energy calculations.The electrical transport properties of PdS and PdS_(2) NFs were explored by conductive atomic force microscopy.Our findings have achieved the controllable growth of PdS and PdS_(2) NFs,which may provide a pathway to facilitate PdS and PdS_(2) based applications for next-generation high performance optoelectronic devices.

Boron-Silicon Thin Film Formation Using a Slim Vertical Chemical Vapor Deposition Reactor

A boron-silicon film was formed from boron trichloride gas and dichlorosilane gas at about 900℃in ambient hydrogen at atmospheric pressure utilizing a slim vertical cold wall chemical vapor deposition reactor designed for the Minimal Fab system. The gas flow rates were 80, 20 and 0.1 - 20 sccm for the hydrogen, dichlorosilane and boron trichloride gases, respectively. The gas transport condition in the reactor was shown to quickly become stable when evaluated by quartz crystal microbalances at the inlet and outlet. The boron-silicon thin film was formed by achieving the various boron concentrations of 0.16% - 80%, the depth profile of which was flat. By observing the cross-sectional TEM image, the obtained film was dense. The boron trichloride gas is expected to be useful for the quick fabrication of various materials containing boron at significantly low and high concentrations.

Jet formation and penetration performance of a double-layer charge liner with chemically-deposited tungsten as the inner liner

This paper proposes a type of double-layer charge liner fabricated using chemical vapor deposition(CVD)that has tungsten as its inner liner.The feasibility of this design was evaluated through penetration tests.Double-layer charge liners were fabricated by using CVD to deposit tungsten layers on the inner surfaces of pure T2 copper liners.The microstructures of the tungsten layers were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope(SEM).The feasibility analysis was carried out by pulsed X-rays,slug-retrieval test and static penetration tests.The shaped charge jet forming and penetration law of inner tungsten-coated double-layer liner were studied by numerical simulation method.The results showed that the double-layer liners could form well-shaped jets.The errors between the X-ray test results and the numerical results were within 11.07%.A slug-retrieval test was found that the retrieved slug was similar to a numerically simulated slug.Compared with the traditional pure copper shaped charge jet,the penetration depth of the double-layer shaped charge liner increased by 11.4% and>10.8% respectively.In summary,the test results are good,and the numerical simulation is in good agreement with the test,which verified the feasibility of using the CVD method to fabricate double-layer charge liners with a high-density and high-strength refractory metal as the inner liner.

Modification of ACFs by chemical vapor deposition and its application for removal of methyl orange from aqueous solution

Viscose activated carbon fibers （ACFs） were characterized using specific surface area, scanning electron modified with chemical vapor deposition （CVD）. The samples were microscopy （SEM）, pore size distribution and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the adsorption behavior of modified ACFs for methyl orange（MO） from its aqueous solutions. The results show that the adsorption isotherms of MO onto modified ACFs well follows the Langmuir isotherm equation. The adsorption kinetics of MO can be well described by the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The adsorption process involves the intra-particle diffusion, but is not the only rate-controlling step. Thermodynamic parameters including AG, AH and AS were calculated, suggesting that the adsorption of MO onto modified ACFs is a spontaneous, exothermic and physisorption process. FTIR result indicates that the major adsorption mechanism of modified ACFs for MO is hydrogen bond.

Influence of oxygen on the growth of cubic boron nitride thin films by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition

Cubic boron nitride thin films were deposited on silicon substrates by low-pressure inductively coupled plasmaenhanced chemical vapour deposition. It was found that the introduction of 02 into the deposition system suppresses both nucleation and growth of cubic boron nitride. At a B2H6 concentration of 2.5% during film deposition, the critical O2 concentration allowed for the nucleation of cubic boron nitride was found to be less than 1.4%, while that for the growth of cubic boron nitride was higher than 2.1%. Moreover, the infrared absorption peak observed at around 1230- 1280 cm^-1, frequently detected for cubic boron nitride films prepared using non-ultrahigh vacuum systems, appears to be due to the absorption of boron oxide, a contaminant formed as a result of the oxygen impurity. Therefore, the existence of trace oxygen contamination in boron nitride films can be evaluated qualitatively by this infrared absorption peak.

Hydrophobic Ti_xO_y-C_mH_n Nanoparticle Film Prepared by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

The hydrophobic films of TixOy-CmHn. deposited from mixture gases of titanium isopropoxide （TTIP） and oxygen by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition （PECVD） were investigated. The films were investigated by scanning electron microscope （ SEM ）, transmission electron microscope （ TEM ）, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer （ FTIR）, X-Ray diffraction （ XRD ）, element analysis （ EA ）, ultraviolet visible spectrometer （ UV-Vis）, and water contact angle （WCA）. The results reveal that the surface of the films is formed by mierosized papillaes aggregated by inorganic and organic phases of complex nanoparticles with size from 50 nm to 200 nm when the discharge power is increased from 40 W to 150 W. All fdms demonstrate the strong broad of Ti-O-Ti stretching vibration at 400 -800cm-1, -CH bending vibration at 1 388 cm -1, and broadening -OH stretching vibration at 3 000-3500 cm-1 With the increase of the discharge power, the asdeposited film changes from amorphous to crystallization. The WCA of the film can be as high as 160°, indicating the hydrophobicity. The films show a similar ultraviolet absorption property as the bulk TiO2 film. The composition of the composition of film deposited at 150 W can be formulated as Tio.302-C1.5H3. Therefore, the composition formula of this hydrophobic film could be expressed as TiO2-C5H10O4.7. It is believed that the complex micro/nano structures of TiO2 and C5H10O4.7 residues are responsible for the observed hydrophobicity and the ultraviolet absorption property of the film.

Low-Temperature Growth of ZnO Films on GaAs by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

ZnO thin films were grown on GaAs （001） substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD） at low temperatures ranging from 100 to 400℃. DEZn and 1-12 O were used as the zinc precursor and oxygen precursor, respectively. The effects of the growth temperatures on the growth characteristics and optical properties of ZnO films were investigated. The X-ray diffraction measurement （XRD） results indicated that all the thin films were grown with highly c- axis orientation. The surface morphologies and crystal properties of the films were critically dependent on the growth temperatures. Although there was no evidence of epitaxial growth, the scanning electron microscopy （SEM） image of ZnO film grown at 400℃ revealed the presence of ZnO microcrystallines with closed packed hexagon structure. The photoluminescence spectrum at room temperature showed only bright band-edge （3. 33eV） emissions with little or no deep-level e- mission related to defects.

GROWTH MECHANISM OF TiC WHISKERS PREMRED BY A MODIFIED CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION METHOD

High quality TiC whiskers have been prepared by a modified chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using TiCl4 and CH4 as reactant gases and Ni as substrate. The deposition temperature and gas flow mies have ampreciable effect on the whisker growth.The whisker orientations and morphology are determined by X-my diffraction (XRD),scanning electron micmpmph (SEM) and transmission electron microgmph (TEM).In addition to the spherical tips, spiral growth microsteps and obvious terraces are observed at the tips and side faces of whiskers in the present eoperiment. The whiskers grow mostly along (100) direction. The whisker growth mechanism is discussed in detail.

Technical Challenges and Progress in Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapor Deposition of Polysilicon

Various methods for production of polysilicon have been proposed for lowering the production cost andenergy consumption, and enhancing productivity, which are critical for industrial applications. The fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition （FBCVD） method is a most promising alternative to conventional ones, but the homogeneous reaction of silane in FBCVD results in unwanted formation of fines, which will affect the product qualityand output. There are some other problems, such as heating degeneration due to undesired polysilicon deposition on the walls of the reactor and the heater. This article mainly reviews the technological development on FBCVD of polycrystalline silicon and the research status for solving the above problems. It also identifies a number of challenges to tackle and principles should be followed in the design ofa FBCVD reactor.

Two Step Chemical Vapor Deposition of In2Se3/MoSe2 van der Waals Heterostructures

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides heterostructures have stimulated wide in- terest not only for the fundamental research, but also for the application of next generation electronic and optoelectronic devices. Herein, we report a successful two-step chemical vapor deposition strategy to construct vertically stacked van der Waals epitaxial In2Se3/MoSe2 heterostructures. Transmission electron microscopy characterization reveals clearly that the In2Se3 has well-aligned lattice orientation with the substrate of monolayer MoSe2. Due to the interaction between the In2Se3 and MoSe2 layers, the heterostructure shows the quench- ing and red-shift of photoluminescence. Moreover, the current rectification behavior and photovoltaic effect can be observed from the heterostructure, which is attributed to the unique band structure alignment of the heterostructure, and is further confirmed by Kevin probe force microscopy measurement. The synthesis approach via van der Waals epitaxy in this work can expand the way to fabricate a variety of two-dimensional heterostructures for potential applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Texture Evolutions in Fe-6.5%Si Produced by Rapid Solidification and Chemical Vapor Deposition

Fe-Si ribbons and thin sheets with 6.5%Si content were prepared by means of the single roller rapid solidification and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), respectively. The initial textures of rapidly solidified Fe-6.5%Si ribbons were characteristic of the {100} fiber-type, which became weakened during primary recrystallization in various atmospheres. At the stage of secondary recrystallization, the {100} texture formed in Ar and the {110} texture in hydrogen, while there occurred a texture transformation from the {100} type to the {110} type in vacuum with the increase of annealing temperature. For Fe-6.5%Si sheets prepared by Si deposition in cold-rolled Fe-3%Si matrix sheets, their textures were dominated by the η-fiber (<001>//RD) with the maximum density at the {120}<001> orientations. After homogenization annealing, the η-fiber could evolve into the {130}<001> type or become more concentrated on the {120}<001> orientations, depending on the cold rolling modes of Fe-3%Si matrix sheets.

Carbon nanotubes for supercapacitors:Consideration of cost and chemical vapor deposition techniques

In this topic, we first discussed the requirement and performance of supercapacitors using carbon nanotubes （CNTs） as the electrode, including specific surface area, purity and cost. Then we reviewed the preparation technique of single wailed CNTs （SWNTs） in relatively large scale by chemical vapor deposition method. Its catalysis on the decomposition of methane and other carbon source, the reactor type and the process control strategies were discussed. Special focus was concentrated on how to increase the yield, selectivity, and purity of SWNTs and how to inhibit the formation of impurities, including amorphous carbon, multiwalled CNTs and the carbon encapsulated metal particles, since these impurities seriously influenced the performance of SWNTs in supercapacitors. Wish it be helpful to further decrease its product cost and for the commercial use in supercapacitors.

Science Letters:Development of supported boron-doping TiO_2 catalysts by chemical vapor deposition

In this study, supported nonmetal (boron) doping TiO2 coating photocatalysts were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to enhance the activity under visible light irradiation and avoid the recovering of TiO2. Boron atoms were successfully doped into the lattice of TiO2 through CVD, as evidenced from XPS analysis. B-doped TiO2 coating catalysts showed drastic and strong absorption in the visible light range with a red shift in the band gap transition. This novel B-TiO2 coating photocatalyst showed higher photocatalytic activity in methyl orange degradation under visible light irradiation than that of the pure TiO2 photocatalyst.