In this study, boron carbide thin films were deposited on AISI M2 grade high-speed steel substrates by plasma-enhanced DC magnetron sputtering of an 'in-house' produced boron carbide target material. Tribological properties of the coatings have been evaluated by a 'pin-on-disc' tribometer. Wear tracks on boron carbide thin films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) elemental ion imaging. The results of analyses provided information about the reliability of the SIMS ion imaging compared to the other investigation techniques on nano-layers and nano-sized thin films.
Crystalline TiO2 films of anatase, brookite, and rutile are reproducibly made from amorphous precursors deposited by RF magnetron sputtering, producing large-area, single phase films of uniform thickness. Sputtered amorphous TiO2 precursor thin films follow the general behavior observed for amorphous precursor thin films generated by pulsed laser deposition, namely, that oxygen deficiency is necessary for the formation of brookite and rutile. We quantify the oxygen deficiency and correlate it with the long wavelength optical absorption. We find that the precursor deposition rate is also a contributing factor to phase selection and that brookite and rutile form from films deposited more rapidly and anatase from films deposited more slowly. Sputtered and pulsed laser deposited amorphous precursor films prepared with similar oxygen deficiency and similar thickness result in the same final state after annealing, but the rate for sputtered precursors is slower.
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