CrN films deposited by ion source-assisted magnetron sputtering

CrN coatings were deposited on Si(100) and piston rings by ion source assisted 40 kHz magnetron sputtering.Structure and composition of the coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction,atomic force microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.Mechanical and tribological properties were assessed by microhardness and pin-on-disc testing.The ion source-assisted system has a deposition rate of 3.88 μm/h,against 2.2 μm/h without ion-source assistance.The CrN coatings prepared with ion source assistance exhibited an increase in microhardness(up to 16.3 GPa) and decrease in friction coefficient(down to 0.48) at the optimized cathode source-to-substrate distance.Under optimized conditions,CrN coatings were deposited on piston rings,with a thickness of 25 μm and hardness of 17.85 GPa.

Instrumentation and application of the ion beam analysis line of the in situ ion beam system

An ion beam analysis system was established on a 1.7 MV tandem accelerator, enabling Rutherford backscattering(RBS), elastic recoil detection(ERD), nuclear reaction analysis(NRA) and channeling measurements. The system was tested by performing qualitative and quantitative analysis of Si, Ni/Si, Bi Fe O3:La/Si,Mo C/Mo/Si and Ti BN/Si samples. RBS of a Bi Fe O3:La film was used as system calibration. Tested by ion beam channeling, a Si(100) is of good crystallinity(χmin= 3.01%). For thin film samples, the measured thickness agrees well with simulation results by SIMNRA. In particular, composition of a Mo C/Mo/Si and Ti BN film samples were analyzed by RBS and non-Rutherford elastic backscattering.

Structure and Mechanical Properties of CrTiAlN/TiAlN Composite Coatings Deposited by Multi-Arc Ion Plating

CrTiAlN/TiAlN composite coatings were deposited on cemented carbide by using a home-made industrial scale multi-arc ion plating system. The samples were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, microhardness and ball-on-disk testing. The properties of the CrTiAlN/TiAlN coatings were significantly influenced by the microstructure and the deposition time ratio of TiAlN over CrTiAlN layers. With the increase of deposition time ratio, the microhardness of CrTiAlN/TiAlN increased from 28.6 GPa to 37.5 GPa, much higher than that of CrTiAlN coatings. The friction coefficients of the CrTiAlN/TiAlN coatings were higher than those of CrTiAlN coatings against a cemented carbide ball. The microhardness of the CrTiAlN/TiAlN coatings was changed after annealing at 800 ℃, and the friction coefficients of the annealed coatings were increased against the cemented carbide ball.

Preparation of graphene on Cu foils by ion implantation with negative carbon clusters

We report on few-layer graphene synthesized on Cu foils by ion implantation using negative carbon cluster ions,followed by annealing at 950？C in vacuum. Raman spectroscopy reveals IG/I2 Dvalues varying from 1.55 to 2.38 depending on energy and dose of the cluster ions, indicating formation of multilayer graphene. The measurements show that the samples with more graphene layers have fewer defects. This is interpreted by graphene growth seeded by the first layers formed via outward diffusion of C from the Cu foil, though nonlinear damage and smoothing effects also play a role. Cluster ion implantation overcomes the solubility limit of carbon in Cu, providing a technique for multilayer graphene synthesis.

Degradation of ferroelectric and weak ferromagnetic properties of BiFeO_3 films due to the diffusion of silicon atoms

Crystalline BiFeO3 （BFO） films each with a crystal structure of a distorted rhombohedral perovskite are characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and high-resolution electron microscopy （HRTEM）. The diffusion of silicon atoms from the substrate into the BiFeO3 film is detected by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry （RBS）. The element analysis is per- formed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS）. Simulation results of RBS spectrum show a visualized distribution of silicon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） indicates that a portion of silica is formed in the diffusion process of silicon atoms. Ferroelectric and weak ferromagnetic properties of the BFO films are degraded due to the diffusion of silicon atoms. The saturation magnetization decreases from 6.11 down to 0.75 emu/g, and the leakage current density increases from 3.8 × 10^-4 upto7.1 × 10^-4 A/cm-2.