TY - JOUR
T1 - A TEM study of the structure of magnetron sputtered chromium diboride coatings
AU - Audronis, M.
AU - Kelly, P. J.
AU - Leyland, A.
AU - Matthews, A.
PY - 2006/1/1
Y1 - 2006/1/1
N2 - Chromium diboride thin films possess desirable combinations of properties, which are attractive for a wide range of potential industrial applications. However, these properties are strongly dependent on the deposition process and parameters. In this paper, CrB2 coatings deposited by DC and pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering of loosely packed blended powder targets are characterised by transmission electron microscopy techniques (electron diffraction and bright-field/dark-field imaging). Coatings with an extremely fine, nanocolumnar structure were observed. DC sputter deposited coatings exhibit a dense, short range ordered structure, while the pulsed-DC deposited coatings are defect-free, crystalline and show strong preferred orientation. A small amount of contamination of the interfacial sub-layers of the coatings by oxygen (from the target material) was found to affect the structure by suppressing growth of nanocolumns and promoting equiaxial grains of about 4-8 nanometres size, in the first ∼70 nanometres of coating, close to the substrate interface. The majority of the coating however remains nanocolumnar.
AB - Chromium diboride thin films possess desirable combinations of properties, which are attractive for a wide range of potential industrial applications. However, these properties are strongly dependent on the deposition process and parameters. In this paper, CrB2 coatings deposited by DC and pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering of loosely packed blended powder targets are characterised by transmission electron microscopy techniques (electron diffraction and bright-field/dark-field imaging). Coatings with an extremely fine, nanocolumnar structure were observed. DC sputter deposited coatings exhibit a dense, short range ordered structure, while the pulsed-DC deposited coatings are defect-free, crystalline and show strong preferred orientation. A small amount of contamination of the interfacial sub-layers of the coatings by oxygen (from the target material) was found to affect the structure by suppressing growth of nanocolumns and promoting equiaxial grains of about 4-8 nanometres size, in the first ∼70 nanometres of coating, close to the substrate interface. The majority of the coating however remains nanocolumnar.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33644531526&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1742-6596/26/1/086
DO - 10.1088/1742-6596/26/1/086
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33644531526
SN - 1742-6588
VL - 26
SP - 355
EP - 358
JO - Journal of Physics: Conference Series
JF - Journal of Physics: Conference Series
IS - 1
ER -