Abstract
Carbon nitride thin films were synthesized using d.c. unbalanced magnetron sputtering of a high-purity graphite target in a nitrogen-containing plasma onto various substrates held at ambient temperatures. The N/C ratio was found to vary from zero to 0.8 depending on deposition conditions. There was evidence of multiple bonding states for carbon and nitrogen (sp, sp2 and sp3), and the bulk of the film was found to be amorphous. Nanoindentation studies showed that under appropriate substrate bias conditions the carbon nitride coating hardness can be enhanced to levels well above that of conventional amorphous hard carbon coatings. CNx coatings replicate the substrate topography, giving rise to surface roughness equal to or better than the original substrates. Lubricated tribotesting showed the relationship between wear performance and deposition conditions. Under pure sliding in air, the CNx coating provided a 30-fold reduction in wear rate for M2 steels (compared with uncoated M2) under our testing conditions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 611-615 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Surface and Coatings Technology |
Volume | 68-69 |
Issue number | C |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1994 |
Funding
This research is supported by the National Science Foundation Surface Engineering and Tribology Program Grant Number MSS—9203239 and the National Storage Industry Consortium/ARPA UHD project. The authors would like to thank Rachel Bain for assistance in using the Raman Facility at Northwestern University, Mr. Xin-ling Yang for assistance in coating deposition and Professor G. Pharr of Rice University for providing nanoindentation results on hard carbon overcoats.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Surfaces and Interfaces
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Materials Chemistry