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Preparation of boron carbide thin films from reactive sputtering of boron
Author(s) -
Lee K. E.,
Kim C. O.,
Park M. J.,
Kim J. H.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.200304574
Subject(s) - nanocrystalline material , auger electron spectroscopy , boron carbide , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , materials science , amorphous solid , analytical chemistry (journal) , boron , thin film , sputtering , sputter deposition , scanning electron microscope , metallurgy , crystallography , chemical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , physics , organic chemistry , chromatography , nuclear physics , engineering
Boron carbide thin films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. The films were deposited onto CoCr/Cr/SiO 2 /Si(100) substrates with an RF power of 25, 50 and 75 W in the range of 200 °C. The reactive gas was introduced up to 1.5 vol% (CH 4 /(Ar + CH 4 )) during deposition, and the resulting composition of the films matched these ratios, as observed by Auger electron spectroscopy. In X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, two well‐resolved peaks in C (1s) spectra were observed around 284 eV, indicating C–C bond at 284.5 eV and B–C bond at 283.5 eV. The X‐ray diffraction of these films revealed the amorphous or nanocrystalline characteristics. At the deposition conditions of 75 W, 100 °C and 1.0 vol%, the nano‐indented films were hardened to 16 GPa and the scratched surfaces endured load of 50 N. In the wear test, the coefficient of friction was also measured down to 0.15. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)