1. Synthesis and characterisation of self-lubricating tungsten nitride thin films as protective machine tool coatings.
- Author
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Ghantasala, Sri Bharani and Sharma, Sumitra
- Subjects
FACE centered cubic structure ,THIN films ,MAGNETRON sputtering ,MACHINE tools ,TUNGSTEN ,SURFACE coatings ,ZINC oxide films - Abstract
WN thin films were synthesised on silicon (100) substrate by varying the nitrogen flow rate (NFR) at a substrate temperature of 300°C for the initial 15 min using RF magnetron sputtering. With the increase in NFR from 1.58, 5.29 and 10 sccm (standard cubic centimetres per minute), the FCC β-W
2 N phase was converted to mixed phases of FCC β-W2 N and hexagonal δ-WN, and further to amorphous phases. Likewise, XPS results indicated the presence of W-N phases. In addition, structural and morphological studies confirmed the presence of dense films at 1.58 sccm of NFR with a thickness of 430 nm and a surface roughness of 0.99 ± 0.16 nm. Moreover, the film with β-W2 N phase (at 1.58 sccm of N2 flow) exhibited high hardness and elastic modulus values of 28.36 ± 2.57 GPa and 149.72 ± 8.04 GPa, and better scratch resistance with average coefficient of friction (COF) value of 0.303, making it best suitable for hard coating applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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