Physical Vapour Deposition of Zr-Based Nano Films on Various Substrates: A Review

: Physical vapor deposition (PVD) is one of the thin film fabrication processes in the semiconductor industry. The review paper discusses the different types of PVD methods such as sputtering, cathodic arc deposition, pulsed laser deposition, and ion plating that could be employed in order to fabricate nanoscaled thin film. This paper focuses on the review of Zr-based nanoscaled thin film properties, including the transformation of Zr to ZrO2 based nanofilm as high-k gate dielectric as well as its corrosion, mechanical and degradation resistance is thoroughly analysed. The properties are affected by gas flow rate changes, temperature and crystallinity are discussed in each section. Thus, this review paper informs the researchers on the progress of the thin film to date. Understanding the influence of PVD process parameters in fabricating Zr-based nanoscaled thin film is vital for the long-term continuous improvement.

Tribological Properties of Ti-Doped Diamond-Like Carbon Coatings Under Boundary Lubrication With ZDDP

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings containing 0.7%, 5.8% and 23.3% Ti were deposited via pulsed cathodic arc deposition and magnetron sputtering on AISI 316L stainless steel substrates. The varied Ti content was controlled by setting Ti target current at 3, 5 and 7A. The composition, microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of Ti-doped DLC (Ti-DLC) coatings were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation and ball-on-disc tribometer. The results show that TiC formed when Ti content in the coating was higher than 5.8% and the ID/IG ratios increased gradually with the increasing Ti content. Ti-DLC with 0.7 Ti had the highest H/E and H3/E2 ratios and exhibited optimal tribological properties under lubrication, especially when ZDDP was contained in the oil. Furthermore, ZDDP tribofilms played an important role in wear reduction by protecting the rubbing surfaces against adhesion and suppressing the tribo-induced graphitization of DLC coatings.

Surface morphology, magnetic resonance and antistatic properties of fabric with carbon coating, modified by metal clusters

The morphology of the surface, the magnetic resonance and antistatic properties of the 07C11-KV blended fabric manufactured by Mogotex LLC with a carbon coating doped with metal clusters are studied.The coating was applied by pulsed cathodic-arc deposition in vacuum of 3.5 · 10–3 Pa. It is established that during the coatinga droplet phase is formed. The size of the drops reaches 20 – 25 microns. The result of measuring the surface resistivity on fabric 1 side / 2 side is 3.2 · 107 and 1.9 · 107 Om, respectively. On the EPR spectrum are recorded two lines. The first line is a broad spectral line with an effective g-factor of 2.27 ± 0.01 and a width of 94.4 mT. The second line is narrow spectral line with an effective g-factor of 2.04 ± 0.01 and a width of 4.3 mT. This is corresponds to carbon coating clusters.From the ratio of the signal intensities of the filled resonator and the calibration sample, it follows that the non-resonant absorption of the microwave electromagnetic field in the system is slightly attenuated.

Effect of Fluorine Incorporation on DLC Films Deposited by Pulsed Cathodic Arc Deposition on Nitrile Butadiene Rubber and Polyurethane Rubber Substrates

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) and fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC) films were deposited via pulsed cathodic arc deposition on pretreated nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and polyurethane (PU) rubber substrates. Both DLC and F-DLC films showed a more than 50% decrease in coefficients of friction compared to uncoated NBR and PU rubber substrates. The incorporation of fluorine was found to have little influence on the film coefficient of friction. However, a decrease in film wettability was overserved in the F-DLC films compared to the DLC films.

In Vitro Corrosion of Titanium Nitride and Oxynitride-Based Biocompatible Coatings Deposited on Stainless Steel

The reactive cathodic arc deposition technique was used to produce Ti nitride and oxynitride coatings on 304 stainless steel substrates (SS). Both mono (SS/TiN, SS/TiNO) and bilayer coatings (SS/TiN/TiNO and SS/TiNO/TiN) were investigated in terms of elemental and phase composition, microstructure, grain size, morphology, and roughness. The corrosion behavior in a solution consisting of 0.10 M NaCl + 1.96 M H2O2 was evaluated, aiming for biomedical applications. The results showed that the coatings were compact, homogeneously deposited on the substrate, and displaying rough surfaces. The XRD analysis indicated that both mono and bilayer coatings showed only cubic phases with (111) and (222) preferred orientations. The highest crystallinity was shown by the SS/TiN coating, as indicated also by the largest grain size of 23.8 nm, which progressively decreased to 16.3 nm for the SS/TiNO monolayer. The oxynitride layers exhibited the best in vitro corrosion resistance either as a monolayer or as a top layer in the bilayer structure, making them a good candidate for implant applications.

Wear Resistance and Titanium Adhesion of Cathodic Arc Deposited Multi-Component Coatings for Carbide End Mills at the Trochoidal Milling of Titanium Alloy

The work was devoted to the study of the effectiveness of the application of multi-component coatings, TiN–Al/TiN, TiN–AlTiN/SiN, and CrTiN–AlTiN–AlTiCrN/SiN, obtained by cathodic arc deposition to increase the wear resistance of 6WH10F carbide end mills in trochoidal milling of titanium alloy. The surface morphology of the tool with coatings was studied using scanning electron microscopy, and surface roughness texture was estimated. Microhardness and elastic modulus of the coated carbide tool surface layer were determined by nanoindentation. The process of sticking titanium to the working surface of the tool and quantitative evaluation of end mill wear with multi-component coatings at the trochoidal strategy of milling titanium alloy was studied. The CrTiN–AlTiN–AlTiCrN/SiN coating showed the maximum value of the plasticity index at the level of 0.12. The maximum effect of reducing the wear rate was achieved when using a tool with a CrTiN –AlTiN–AlTiCrN/SiN coating when the operating time to failure of end mills was increased by 4.6 times compared to samples without coating, by 1.4 times compared with TiN–Al/TiN coating and 1.15 times compared with TiN–AlTiN/SiN coating.

Effects of Polyurethane Substrate Pre-Treatment on Pulsed Cathodic Arc Deposited DLC Films

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited by means of pulsed cathodic arc deposition on pretreated polyurethane (PU) rubber substrates. Tetrachloroethylene was chosen as a dissolution method to remove the plasticizer added in the PU substrates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy were applied to observe and characterize the surface morphologies and compositions of the deposited films, respectively. The tribological behaviours of uncoated and coated rubbers were investigated with ring-on-disc tribo experiments under dry sliding conditions. The coefficients of friction (COFs) of the coated rubbers were 40% lower than those of uncoated rubber and the COFs of different samples decreased first and then increased slightly with the increase in temperature and the time of ultrasonic treatment under dry friction. Based on the above experiments, ultrasonic treatment with tetrachloroethylene contributes to the increase in the wear resistance of DLC films deposited on PU rubbers. The most suitable temperature and time of ultrasonic treatment with tetrachloroethylene is 50 °C for 15 min.

Improvement of CoCr Alloy Characteristics by Ti-Based Carbonitride Coatings Used in Orthopedic Applications

The response of the human body to implanted biomaterials involves several complex reactions. The potential success of implantation depends on the knowledge of the interaction between the biomaterials and the corrosive environment prior to the implantation. Thus, in the present study, the in vitro corrosion behavior of biocompatible carbonitride-based coatings are discussed, based on microstructure, mechanical properties, roughness and morphology. TiCN and TiSiCN coatings were prepared by the cathodic arc deposition method and were analyzed as a possible solution for load bearing implants. It was found that both coatings have an almost stoichiometric structure, being solid solutions, which consist of a mixture of TiC and TiN, with a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. The crystallite size decreased with the addition of Si into the TiCN matrix: the crystallite size of TiCN was 16.4 nm, while TiSiCN was 14.6 nm. The addition of Si into TiCN resulted in smaller Ra roughness values, indicating a beneficial effect of Si. All investigated surfaces have positive skewness, being adequate for the load bearing implants, which work in a corrosive environment. The hardness of the TiCN coating was 36.6 ± 2.9 GPa and was significantly increased to 47.4 ± 1 GPa when small amounts of Si were added into the TiCN layer structure. A sharp increase in resistance to plastic deformation (H3/E2 ratio) from 0.63 to 1.1 was found after the addition of Si into the TiCN matrix. The most electropositive value of corrosion potential was found for the TiSiCN coating (−14 mV), as well as the smallest value of corrosion current density (49.6 nA cm2), indicating good corrosion resistance in 90% DMEM + 10% FBS, at 37 ± 0.5 °C.