IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Surface Engineering Tuesday Sessions
       Session SE-TuA

Paper SE-TuA2
Characterization of CrBN Films Deposited by Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

Tuesday, October 30, 2001, 2:20 pm, Room 132

Session: Hard and Superhard Coatings
Presenter: S.M. Aouadi, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Authors: S.L. Rohde, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
S.M. Aouadi, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
D.M. Shultze, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
T.Z. Gorishnyy, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
N. Finnegan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Correspondent: Click to Email
This paper reports on the first attempt to grow and analyze CrBN nanocrystalline materials using physical vapor deposition processes. Coatings were deposited at low temperatures (<200 °C) on silicon substrates using ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). These coatings were characterized post-deposition using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry (IR-SE), and visible-light spectroscopic ellipsometry (VIS-SE). The primary phases in the films were identified using XRD. The surface morphology and nanocrystalline nature of the coatings (grain size of 5 - 7 nm) were deduced using AFM. The mechanical properties (wear rate, hardness, elastic modulii) of the coatings were evaluated using a nanohardness test. The chemical composition and phase composition of the samples were determined from XPS and AES measurements and were subsequently deduced from the analysis of the VIS-SE data. The film compositions deduced from both techniques correlated well. Additionally, XPS, AES, and IR-SE were used to reveal the crystal structure of the BN phase in these ternary compounds.