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A New Approach to the Deposition of Elemental Boron and Boron‐Based Coatings by Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering of Loosely Packed Boron Powder Targets
Author(s) -
Audronis Martynas,
Kelly Peter J.,
Leyland Adrian,
Matthews Allan
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
plasma processes and polymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1612-8869
pISSN - 1612-8850
DOI - 10.1002/ppap.200730603
Subject(s) - boron , materials science , sputter deposition , deposition (geology) , sputtering , coating , metallurgy , nanotechnology , thin film , chemistry , paleontology , organic chemistry , sediment , biology
Large numbers of potential application areas for elemental boron and boron‐based thin film materials make this subject area a focus of significant scientific and industrial interest. Applications include thermoelectric energy conversion devices, biomedical implants, metalworking tools and automotive components. Boron is however also recognised widely to be a difficult‐to‐deposit material. Therefore, a new technique to deposit boron (and other boron‐based materials) by pulsed magnetron sputtering of loosely packed powder targets has been proposed. Among the benefits of this approach are: improved stability of the deposition process, increased speed and flexibility of target preparation, enhanced time‐ and cost‐effectiveness and the ability to control readily the target and hence the chemical composition of the coating.