Gold and silver/Si nanocomposite layers

Comparative surface and nano-tribological characteristics of nanocomposite diamond-like carbon thin films doped by silver

“…The disordering of carbon due to ion bombardment has been explained in detail [17], and has also been observed in the Raman scan on the hydrogen-free DLC-Ag nanocomposite [1]. The sp 2 and sp 3 carbon fractions in the amorphous phases can be estimated by using deconvolution method of the C1s XPS spectra proposed by Jackson and Nuzzo [18] and Diaz et al [19]. By comparison silver doping slightly decreased the sp 3 content in hydrogen-free DLC, while for hydrogenated DLC the sp 2 /sp 3 ratio was relatively constant.…”

“…It is reasonable to infer that the lateral-direction frictional force is also influenced by surface energy. Hydrogen decreases the DLC surface energy [27,30]; whereas the presence of silver on the top surface increases the surface energy [2,5,31]. Therefore the chemical composition partially explains the results that hydrogenated films had lower μ than hydrogen-free films, and that DLC nanocomposite films doped with silver had higher μ than pure DLC films.…”

“…Due to the amorphous nature of DLC, metallic species can be doped into DLC coatings to form nanocomposites with special functionalities, with only small effect on DLC's good mechanical and tribological properties. For example, in biomedical research, minute silver concentration is highly toxic to germs while relatively non-toxic to human cells [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In optical device application, multilayer coatings of DLC/Ag-alloy can be made transparent and have low emissivity which make them attractive for window applications [7].…”

Modification of Surface and Tribological Properties of DLC Films by Adding Silver Content

“…Generally the adhesion force is proportional to the surface energy of the two contacting surfaces, which depends on the number of dangling bonds on the surface and the degree of surface reconstruction [15]. Hydrogen decreases the DLC surface energy [15]; while the exposing silver on top surface increases the surface energy [2,5,16]. Therefore the chemical composition partially explains the results that hydrogenated films had lower COF than hydrogen-free films, and that silver-containing films had higher COF than pure DLC.…”

“…While the effect of adding silver to DLC coatings has been tested to be beneficial in a variety of applications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8], the tribological properties of these films are not yet completely understood. In order to justify the application of silvercontaining DLC coatings in various applications, surface analysis and tribological property characterization were carried out for silver-containing DLC coatings deposited by PIII-D methods.…”