Structure and properties of TiB2 thin films deposited at low temperatures using RF magnetron sputtering

  • Wei Dai (戴伟)
  • Tongjun Zhang (张同俊)
  • Junyou Yang
  • Rongxing Sun
  • Juliang Xu
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The TiB2 thin films were deposited on steel substrates using RF magnetron sputtering technique with the low normalized substrate temperature (0.1<T s/T m<0.2). Microstructure of these films was obtained by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) characterization, while the composition of films was obtained using Auger emission spectroscopy (AES) analysis. It was found that the TiB2 thin films were overstoichiometric with the B/Ti ratio at 2.33 and the diffusion of Ti and B atoms on the substrate surface was greatly improved at 350 °C. Moreover, a new dense structure, named “equiaxed” grain structure was observed by FESEM at this substrate temperature. Combined with FESEM and AES analysis, it was suggested that the “equiaxed” grain structure was located in Zone 2 at the normalized substrate temperature as low as 0.18.

Key words

TiB2 thin films structure zones 1,2,T equiaxed structure superhard coating auger electron spectroscopy 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. [1]
    F Kunc, J Musil, P H Mayrhofer, et al. Low-stress Superhard Ti-B Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering[J]. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2003, 174/175:744–753CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. [2]
    J Musil. Hard and Superhard Nanocomposite Coatings[J]. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2000, 125(1–3):322–330CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. [3]
    J A Thornton. Influence of Apparatus Geometry and Deposition Conditions on the Structure and Topography of Thick Sputtered Coatings[J]. J. Vac. Sci. Technol., 1974, 11(4):666–670CrossRefADSGoogle Scholar
  4. [4]
    D Galvan, Y T Pei, J Th M De Hosson. Deformation and Failure Mechanism of Nano-composite Coatings under Nano-indentation[J]. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2006, 200(24): 6 718–6 726CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. [5]
    K S Sree Harsha. Principles of Vapor Deposition of Thin Films: Nucleation and Growth of Films[M]. Oxford: Elsevier, 2005:795–802Google Scholar
  6. [6]
    N Panich, Y Sun. Effect of Substrate Rotation on Structure, Hardness and Adhesion of Magnetron Sputtered TiB2 Coating on High Speed Steel[J]. Thin Solid Films, 2006, 500(1–2):190–196CrossRefADSGoogle Scholar
  7. [7]
    N Panich, P Wangyao, S Hannongbua, et al. Tribological Study of Nano-multilayered Ultra-hard Coatings Based on TiB2[J]. Rev. Adv. Mater. Sci., 2006 13(2):117–124Google Scholar
  8. [8]
    H Savaloni, H Kangarloo. Influence of Film Thickness, Substrate Temperature and Nano-structural Changes on the Optical Properties of UHV Deposited Ti Thin Films[J]. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 2007, 40(1):203–214CrossRefADSGoogle Scholar
  9. [9]
    S C Tjong, H Chen. Nanocrystalline Materials and Coatings[J]. Mater. Sci. Eng. R, 2004, 45(1–2):1–88CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. [10]
    Z Zhang, M G Lagally. Atomistic Processes in the Early Stages of Thin-film Growth[J]. Science, 1997, 276(5 311):377–383PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. [11]
    C V Thompson. Structure Evolution During Processing of Polycrystalline Films[J]. Annu. Rev. Mater. Sci., 2000, 30(1): 159–190CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. [12]
    K H Muller. Dependence of Thin-film Microstructure on Deposition Rate by Means of a Computer Simulation[J]. J. Appl. Phys., 1985, 58(7):2 573–2 576CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. [13]
    P H Mayrhofer, C Mitterer. Self-Organized Nanocolumnar Structure in Superhard TiB2 Thin Films[J]. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2005, 86(13):131 909–131 912CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. [14]
    P H Mayrhofer, C Mitterer, J Musil. Structure-property Relationships in Single-and Dual-phase Nanocrystalline Hard Coatings[J]. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2003, 174/175:725–731CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Wuhan University of Technology and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Wei Dai (戴伟)
    • 1
  • Tongjun Zhang (张同俊)
    • 1
  • Junyou Yang
    • 1
  • Rongxing Sun
    • 1
  • Juliang Xu
    • 2
  1. 1.State Key Lab of Material Processing and Die & Mould TechnologyHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
  2. 2.State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Refractories and CeramicsWuhan University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina

Personalised recommendations