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Deposited of crystalline tin (Sn) coatings on mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) powder as anodes of lithium ion (Li-ion) battery was conducted in the SnSO4 solution by a cathodic electrochemical synthesis. The Sn-coated MCMB specimens were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and charge/discharge tests. The synthesis condition of Sn-coated MCMB was optimized by considering the agglomeration, size, and adhesion of the samples to the current collectors in the battery. The Sn-coated MCMB electrodes exhibit increased reversible capacity without sacrificing its cycling behavior, compared with bare MCMB electrodes. It is concluded that electrolysis-deposited Sn-coated MCMB electrodes may emerge as a practical and promising anode material for secondary Li-ion batteries.

(AlCrMoTaTi)N coatings were deposited on Si substrates via reactive magnetron sputtering. The effects of N 2 -to-total (N 2 + Ar) flow ratio ( R N ) on the coating structure and properties were examined. Alloy coatings have composite equiaxed grain structures consisting of amorphous and body-centered cubic crystal phases, whereas nitride coatings have columnar structures with single face-centered cubic crystal phase. Distinct lattice expansion and grain refinement were observed in nitride coatings as R N increased. Typical V-shaped columnar structures with faceted tops and open column boundaries transformed into denser and smaller columnar structures with domed surfaces. Increasing R N to 30% caused the hardness and modulus to reach maximum values of 30.6 and 291.6 GPa, respectively. Electrical resistivity increased from 536 μΩ cm to 8212 μΩ cm when R N increased from 10% to 50%.

In this study, (TiVCrZrHf)N multi-component coatings with quinary metallic elements were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering system. The composition, structure, and mechanical properties of the coatings deposited at different N 2 flow rates were investigated. The (TiVCrZrHf)N coatings deposited at N 2 flow rates of 0, 1, and 2 SCCM showed an amorphous structure, whereas those deposited at N 2 flow rates of 4 and 6 SCCM showed a simple face-centered cubic solid solution structure. A saturated nitride coating was obtained for N 2 flow of 4 SCCM and higher. By increasing N 2 flow to 4 SCCM, the hardness and modulus reached a maximum value of 23.8 ± 0.8 and 267.3 ± 4.0 GPa, respectively.

The present paper reports the influence of growth conditions on the characteristics of (TiVCrZrHf)N films prepared by rf reactive magnetron sputtering at various substrate temperatures. The nitrogen content is observed to decrease with increasing substrate temperature. The X-ray diffraction results indicate that all (TiVCrZrHf)N films are simple face centered cubic (FCC) structures. Initially, there is an obvious decrease followed by an increase in grain size with the increase in substrate temperature. The lower part of the microstructure has an amorphous structure. A nano grain structure (size ∼1 nm) with a random orientation is also observed above the amorphous structure. The fully dense columnar structure with an fcc crystal phase then starts to develop. Extreme hardness of around 48 GPa is obtained in the present alloy design.

In this study, 15 nm-thick sputter-deposited TiVCr alloy thin films were developed as diffusion barrier layers for Cu interconnects. The TiVCr alloy film tends to form a solid solution and a simple crystal structure from the constituted elements. Under TEM, the 15 nm-thick as-deposited TiVCr alloy film was observed to have a dense semi-amorphous or nanocrystalline structure. In conjunction with X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy analyses, the Si/TiVCr/Cu film stack remained stable at a high temperature of 700 °C for 30 min. The electrical resistance of Si/TiVCr/Cu film stack remained as low as the as-deposited value. These indicated that the mixed TiVCr refractory elements’ alloy barrier layer is very beneficial to prevent Cu diffusion.

In this study, TiVCr alloy coatings were deposited on Si substrates by magnetron sputtering system at different working pressures (0.33–1 Pa). The TiVCr coatings have a composite structure with amorphous and body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal phases comprised of bundles of fine fibrous structures and V-shaped columnar structures, respectively. Compared with the amorphous zone, the crystalline zone has a denser and more compact structure. The coating microstructure became more porous as working pressure increased. Consequently, the crystal zones of the deposited coatings at 0.33 Pa obtained higher hardness (11.6 GPa) while the deposited coatings at 1 Pa achieved lower hardness (4.5 GPa).

This study reports the influence of growth conditions on the characteristics of (TiVCrZrY)N coatings prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering at various N 2 -to-total (N 2 + Ar) flow ratio, which is R N . The crystal structures, microstructure, and mechanical properties for different R N were characterized by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, field-emission-scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nanoindentation. The results indicate that the TiVCrZrY alloy and nitride coatings have hexagonal close-packed (hcp)-type and sodium chloride (NaCl)-type solid–solution structures, respectively. The voids in the coatings are eliminated and the growth of the columnar crystal structures is inhibited along with an increasing R N . As a consequence, highly packed equiaxed amorphous structures with smooth surfaces are formed. The coatings accordingly achieved a pronounce hardness of 17.5 GPa when R N = 100%.