Growth and characterization of chromium carbide films deposited by high rate reactive magnetron sputtering for electrical contact applications

SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY

卷:260

Article; Proceedings Paper

Nygren, Kristian^1,2  Samuelsson, Mattias²  Flink, Axel²  Ljungcrantz, Henrik²  Rudolphi, Asa Kassman³  Jansson, Ulf¹ 

[1] Uppsala Univ, Dept Chem, Angstrom Lab, SE-75121 Uppsala, Sweden

[2] Impact Coatings AB, SE-58216 Linkoping, Sweden

[3] Uppsala Univ, Dept Engn Sci, SE-75121 Uppsala, Sweden

关键词: Direct current magnetron sputtering;    High power impulse magnetron sputtering;    Reactive sputtering;    Amorphous chromium carbide;    Solid lubricant;    Contact resistance;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.surfcoat.2014.06.069

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Chromium carbide films with different phase contents were deposited at 126 +/- 26 degrees C by industrial high rate reactive magnetron sputtering, using both direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). Film structure and properties were studied by SEM, XRD, TEM, XPS, NRA, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation, unlubricated reciprocating sliding experiments, and a laboratory setup to measure electrical contact resistance. The films consisted of amorphous a-CrCy, a nanocrystalline minority phase of metastable cubic nc-CrCx, and a hydrogenated graphite-like amorphous carbon matrix (a-C:H). The DCMS and HiPIMS processes yielded films with similar phase contents and microstructures, as well as similar functional properties. Low elastic modulus, down to 66 GPa, indicated good wear properties via a hardness/elastic modulus (H/E) ratio of 0.087. Unlubricated steady-state friction coefficients down to 0.13 were obtained for films with 69 at.% carbon, while the electrical contact resistance could be reduced by two orders of magnitude by addition of a-C:H phase to purely carbidic films. The present films are promising candidates for sliding electrical contact applications. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

【 授权许可】

Free