Hardness Measurement and Evaluation of Double-layer Films on Material Surface

A method for hardness measurement and evaluation of double-layer thin films on the material surface is proposed. Firstly, it is studied how to obtain the force-indentation response with the finite element method when the indentation is less than 100 nanometers, in which current nanoindentation experiments have no reliable accuracy. The whole hardness-displacement curve and fitted equation are obtained. At last, a formula to predict the hardness of the thin film on the material surface is derived and favorably compared with experiments.

Double-layer indium doped zinc oxide for silicon thin-film solar cell prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

Indium doped zinc oxide （ZnO：In） thin films were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis on corning eagle 2000 glass substrate. 1 and 2 at.% indium doped single-layer ZnO：In thin films with different amounts of acetic acid added in the initial solution were fabricated. The 1 at.% indium doped single-layers have triangle grains. The 2 at.% indium doped single-layer with 0.18 acetic acid adding has the resistivity of 6.82 × 10^-3 Ω. cm and particle grains. The doublelayers structure is designed to fabricate the ZnO：In thin film with low resistivity （2.58 × 10^-3 Ω. cm） and good surface morphology. It is found that the surface morphology of the double-layer ZnO：In film strongly depends on the substratelayer, and the second-layer plays a large part in the resistivity of the doublewlayer ZnO：In thin film. Both total and direct transmittances of the double-layer ZnO：In film are above 80% in the visible light region. Single junction a-Si：H solar cell based on the double-layer ZnO：In as front electrode is also investigated.

Growth and corrosion behavior of rare earth film on hot-dip galvanized steel

Hot-dip galvanized(HDG)steel sheets were treated for 30 s?24 h by the rare earth aqueous solution containing 20 g/L Ce(NO3)3·6H2O,and the growth behavior and corrosion resistance of the rare earth film were investigated by SEM,EDS,AES and NSS.The results reveal that the rare earth film becomes thick while the mass gain of the samples does not distinctly change due to the zinc dissolution with the increase of treatment time.The film grows up more quickly and is apt to cracking in the vicinity of zinc grain boundaries,and eventually the film partly warps and flakes off with increasing film thickness.The NSS results show that the corrosion resistance of the film is dominated by both the film thickness and the cracks.With increasing treatment time,the corrosion resistance of the film increases within 1 h due to the increased film thickness and decreases after 1 h because the cracking and flaking off gradually become dominant factor.

Friction Behaviors of the Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition Diamond Film under Ambient Air and Water Lubricating Conditions

The friction behavior of the hot filament chemical vapor deposition（HFCVD） diamond film plays a critical role on its applications in mechanical fields and largely depends on the environment. Studies on the tribological properties of HFCVD diamond films coated on Co-cemented tungsten carbide （WC-Co） substrates are rarely reported in available literatures, especially in the water lubricating conditions. In this paper, conventional microcrystalline diamond（MCD） and fine-grained diamond（FGD） films are deposited on WC-Co substrates and their friction properties are evaluated on a reciprocating ball-on-plate tribometer, where they are brought to slide against ball-bearing steel and copper balls in dry and water lubricating conditions. Scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, atomic force microscopy（AFM）, surface profilometer and Raman spectroscopy are adopted to characterize as-deposited diamond films; SEM and energy dispersive X-ray（EDX） are used to investigate the worn region on the surfaces of both counterface balls and diamond films. The research results show that the friction coefficient of HFCVD diamond films always starts with a high initial value, and then gradually transits to a relative stable state. For a given counterface and a sliding condition, the FGD film presents lower stable friction coefficients by 0.02-0.03 than MCD film. The transferred materials adhered on sliding interface are supposed to have predominate effect on the friction behaviors of HFCVD diamond films. Furthermore, the effect of water lubricating on reducing friction coefficient is significant. For a given counterpart, the stable friction coefficients of MCD or FGD films reduce by about 0.07-0.08 while sliding in the water lubricating condition, relative to in dry sliding condition. This study is beneficial for widespread applications of HFCVD diamond coated mechanical components and adopting water lubricating system, replacing ofoil lubricating, in a variety of mechanical processing fields to implement the green production process.

Growth and corrosion behavior of molybdate passivation film on hot dip galvanized steel

Hot dip galvanized steel sheets were passivated by molybdate aqueous solution containing 10 g/L Na 2MoO 4·2H 2O, and the growth behavior and corrosion resistance of the passivation film were investigated. In the initial stage of passivation, the mass gain of film increases with passivation time proportionally. The film grows up more quickly and is apt to cracking at grain boundaries of zinc, then the cracks spread gradually on the whole surface of the film, and eventually the film will flake off with the increasing of film thickness. XPS results indicate that Mo compounds are present in Mo(Ⅵ) state on the surface of the film, and Mo(Ⅵ) and Mo(Ⅳ) states inside the film. NSS test shows that, the corrosion resistance of the passivation film decreases as the cracks occur, but in AASS test, the thicker the film is, the better the corrosion resistance is, the cracks of film have little effect on the corrosion resistance.

Selective growth of diamond by hot filament CVD using patterned carbon film as mask

Selected-area deposition (SAD) of diamond films was achieved on silicon substrates with carbon film mask by hot filament chemical vapor deposition.Needle tip scraped lines were used to grow diamond films.Scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigation demonstrates that highly selective and sharp edged diamond films were produced.The results also demonstrate that the proper substrate temperature is very important for diamond selective growth in this deposition process.Since the enhancement of diamond growth was not observed on the needle tip scraped area of Si wafer with diamond powder scratching,the selective growth was considered to be closely correlated to silicon carbide formed during carbon film deposition and the residual carbon in the scraped area.

AN INVESTIGATION OF HOT FILM SIGNALS ON LOCATING BOUNDARY LAYER TRANSITION

The abilities of several hot film signals, such as mean voltage, fluctuating voltage and oscillogram of voltage are comparatively studied to locate boundary layer transition. The features of these hot film signals are presented.

An improved wall shear stress measurement technique using sandwiched hot-film sensors

In this letter we present a novel wall shear stress measurement technique for a turbulent boundary layer using sandwiched hot-film sensors. Under certain conditions, satisfactory results can be obtained using only the heat generated by one of the hot-film and a calibration of the sensors is not required. Two thin Nickel films with the same size were used in this study, separated by an electrical insulating layer. The upper film served as a sensor and the bottom one served as a guard heater. The two Nickel films were operated at a same temperature, so that the Joule heat flux generated by the sensor film transferred to the air with a minimum loss or gain depending on the uncertainties in the film temperature measurements. Analytical solution of the shear stress based on the aforementioned heat flux was obtained. The preliminary results were promising and the estimated wall shear stresses agreed reasonablywell with the directly measured values （with errors less than 20%） in a fully developed turbulent pipe flow. The proposed technique can be improved to further increase precisions.

Reparation and Performance Testing of Free Radical Photocurable Passivation Film Modified by Titanate Coupling Agent for Hot-plated Aluminum-zinc Steel Plate

To study the effect of free radical photocurable passivation film modified by titanate coupling agent for hot-plated aluminum-zinc plate,trimethylpropane triacrylate(TMPTA)and 2-phenoxyethyl acrylate were used as active diluents,a mixture of modified epoxy acrylate and modified polyester acrylate in a certain proportion was used as an oligomer,2-methyl-1-[4-(methylothyl)benzene]-2-morpholine acetone(907)was used as a free radical photoinitiator,isopropyl thioxanthone(ITX)was used as sensitizer,and bis(dioctyl phosphate acyl)titanate ethyltitanate acrylamide chelate(FD-812)was used as corrosion inhibitor modifier.After UV-curing,the passivation film was characterized by neutral salt spray test,electrochemical testing and other methods.The general performance of the passivation film may meet the requirements of downstream users of hot aluminum-zinc steel plate.The neutral salt spray test,electrochemical testing and microscopic surface morphology analysis of passivation film are in agreement.The introduction of titanate components may effectively promote the photocuring of free radicals.There have been few reports on the titanate coupling which is added to UV-curing coating formula.The titanate coupling agent contains acrylamide groups and terminal amine groups,acrylamide group has oligomer and crosslinking monomer,the terminal tertiary amine groups can provide hydrogen protons,reduce oxygen polymerization,and a phosphating film is formed on the surface of the metal substrate to improve the adhesion and corrosion resistance of the coating.

<100> Textured Diamond Film on Silicon Grown by Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition

The <100> textured growth of diamond film on HF eroded silicon wafer has been studied by HFCVD. The evolution of grain size and sudece morphology vs deposition time is presented and the <100> textured thick diamond film (80μm) with smooth surface, desirable for practical application in many fields is obtained

Hot-Drawing of Ultrahigh-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene Gel Films

The three stages in the hot-drawing process of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene gel films can be detected by x-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, birefringence and scanning electron microscopy. In the first stage of the drawing process, the lamellae in the gel films rotate and/or slip with the b-axis preferentially perpendicular to the drawing direction. With increased drawing, the c-axis of the lamellae become parallel to the stretching direction while unfolding of the chain begins, and the chains of the amorphous phase also orient along the drawing direction in the strain-chain domain. When the draw ratio is large enough, the lamellar structure is transformed into a fibrillar structure in a two-dimensional fashion.

UV-LED Curing Cationic Passivation Film for the Surface of Hot-Dip Aluminum-Zinc Coated Steel Plate

The surface treatment technology of hot aluminum-zinc steel plate and UV curing technology may be effectively combined in the present research. According to different light curing mechanisms, different formulations from UV curing surface treatment agents can be applied to the surface treatment of hot aluminum-zinc steel plate, mainly including 3-ethyl-3-benzoxy-methyl oxacyclobutane (TCM 104) and 3,4-epoxy-cyclohexylformic acid -3',4'-epoxy-cyclohexyl methyl ester (UVR 6110) as active diluents, high molecular weight polyfunctional oxacyclobutane as oligomer, triaryl sulfonium salt as a cationic photoinitiator, and an anthracene compound as a sensitizer. 385 nm LED lamp used as a radiation resource, the effects of the proportion of active diluent, the type and amount of photoinitiator, the amount of sensitizer, the curing temperature, and the amount of nano-SiO2 on the photocuring rate were investigated by photoper-scanning differential calorimetry (Photo-DSC). The experimental results show that the system has the fastest photocuring rate under the conditions of 8:2 ratio of TCM 104 to UVR 6110, 2.5% photoinitiator, 0.6% sensitizer, 0.2% nano-SiO2 additive, and 80˚C curing temperature. Based on addition of the appropriate number of various additives, the cationic photocuring surface treatment solution was prepared and further coated on the hot-dip galvalume steel plates. After curing, the passivation films were characterized by neutral salt spray test (NSST), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), electrochemical testing and other methods. The results show that the formulations could be cured at an energy of 150 mJ/cm2, and the overall performance of the passivation film could meet with the requirements of the downstream users.

Effect of deposition parameters on micro-and nano-crystalline diamond films growth on WC-Co substrates by HFCVD

The characteristics of hot filament chemical vapor deposition（HFCVD） diamond films are significantly influenced by the deposition parameters, such as the substrate temperature, total pressure and carbon concentration. Orthogonal experiments were introduced to study the comprehensive effects of such three parameters on diamond films deposited on WC-Co substrates. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and Raman spectrum were employed to analyze the morphology, growth rate and composition of as-deposited diamond films. The morphology varies from pyramidal to cluster features with temperature decreasing. It is found that the low total pressure is suitable for nano-crystalline diamond films growth. Moreover, the substrate temperature and total pressure have combined influence on the growth rate of the diamond films.

Role of tensile forces in hot tearing formation of cast Al-Si alloy

The instrumented applied rod casting apparatus （ARCA） was developed to investigate the effects of tensile forces in the hot tearing formation of cast AI-Si alloys. The obtained data of tensile forces/temperature was used to identify hot tearing initiation and propagation and the fracture surface of samples was also investigated. The result shows that the applied tensile forces have a complex effect on load onset for the hot tearing initiation and propagation. During the casting solidification, the tensile forces are gradually increased with the increase of solid fraction. Under the action of tensile forces, there will appear hot tearing and crack propagation on the surface of the sample. When the tensile forces exceed the inherent strength of alloys, there will be fractures on the sample. As for the A356 alloy, the critical fracture stress is about 0.1 MPa. The hot tearing surface morphology shows that the remaining intergranular bridge and liquid films are thick enough to allow the formation of dendrite-tip bumps on the fracture surface.

Effects of deposition parameters on HFCVD diamond films growth on inner hole surfaces of WC-Co substrates

Deposition parameters that have great influences on hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) diamond films growth on inner hole surfaces of WC?Co substrates mainly include the substrate temperature (t), carbon content (φ), total pressure (p) and total mass flow (F). Taguchi method was used for the experimental design in order to study the combined effects of the four parameters on the properties of as-deposited diamond films. A new figure-of-merit (FOM) was defined to assess their comprehensive performance. It is clarified thatt,φandp all have significant and complicated effects on the performance of the diamond film and the FOM, which also present some differences as compared with the previous studies on CVD diamond films growth on plane or external surfaces. Aiming to deposit HFCVD diamond films with the best comprehensive performance, the key deposition parameters were finally optimized as:t=830 °C,φ=4.5%,p=4000 Pa,F=800 mL/min.

Preparation, characterization and electrochemical properties of boron-doped diamond films on Nb substrates

A series of boron-doped polycrystalline diamond films were prepared by hot filament （HF） chemical vapor deposition on Nb substrates. The effects of B/C ratio of reaction gas on film morphology, growth rate, chemical bonding states, phase composition and electrochemical properties of each deposited sample were studied by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction, microhardness indentation, and electrochemical analysis. Results show that the average grain size of diamond and the growth rate decrease with increasing the B/C ratio. The diamond films exhibit excellent adhesion under Vickers microhardness testing （9.8 N load）. The sample with 2% B/C ratio has a wider potential window and a lower background current as well as a faster redox reaction rate in H2SO4 solution and KFe（CN）6 redox system compared with other doping level electrodes.

EFFECT OF GRID BIAS ON DEPOSITION OF NANOCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND FILMS

A positive grid bias and a negative substrate bias voltages are applied to the self-made hot filament chemical vapor deposited （HFCVD） system. The high quality nanocrystalline diamond （NCD） film is successfully deposited by double bias voltage nucleation and grid bias voltage growth. The Micro-Raman XRD SEM and AFM are used to investigate the diamond grain size, microstructure, surface morphology, and nucleation density. Results show that the obtained NCD has grain size of about 20 nm. The effect of grid bias voltage on the nucleation and the diamond growth is studied. Experimental results and theoretical analysis show that the positive grid bias increases the plasma density near the hot filaments, enhances the diamond nucleation, keeps the nanometer size of the diamond grains, and improves the quality of diamond film.

Electrochemical migration behavior and mechanism of PCB-ImAg and PCB-HASL under adsorbed thin liquid films

The electrochemical migration（ECM） behavior and mechanism of immersion silver processing circuit board（PCB-ImAg）and hot air solder leveling circuit board（PCB-HASL） under the 0.1 mol/L Na2SO4 absorbed thin liquid films with different thicknesses were investigated using stereo microscopy and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.Meanwhile,the corrosion tendency and kinetics rule of metal plates after bias application were analyzed with the aid of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS）and scanning Kelvin probe（SKP）.Results showed that under different humidity conditions,the amount of migrating corrosion products of silver for PCB-ImAg was limited,while on PCB-HASL both copper dendrites and precipitates such as sulfate and metal oxides of copper/tin were found under a high humidity condition（exceeding 85%）.SKP results indicated that the cathode plate of two kinds of PCB materials had a higher corrosion tendency after bias application.An ECM model involving multi-metal reactions was proposed and the differences of ECM behaviors for two kinds of PCB materials were compared.

Amorphous SiO_2 interlayers for deposition of adherent diamond films onto WC-Co inserts

Amorphous Si O2（a-Si O2） films were synthesized on WC-Co substrates with H2 and tetraethoxysilane（TEOS） via pyrolysis of molecular precursor.X-ray diffraction（XRD） pattern shows that silicon-cobalt compounds form at the interface between a-Si O2 films and WC-Co substrates.Moreover,it is observed by transmission electron microscope（TEM） that the a-Si O2 films are composed of hollow mirco-spheroid a-Si O2 particles.Subsequently,the a-Si O2 films are used as intermediate films and chemical vapor deposition（CVD） diamond films are deposited on them.Indentation tests were performed to evaluate the adhesion of bi-layer（a-Si O2 ＋ diamond） films on cemented carbide substrates.And the cutting performance of bi-layer（a-Si O2 ＋ diamond） coated inserts was evaluated by machining the glass fiber reinforced plastic（GFRP）.The results show that a-Si O2 interlayers can greatly improve the adhesive strength of diamond films on cemented carbide inserts;furthermore,thickness of the a-Si O2 interlayers plays a significant role in their effectiveness on adhesion enhancement of diamond films.