Microstructure and Tribological Properties of FeNPs@a-C:H Films by Micromorphology Analysis and Fractal Geometry

Abstract

This paper analyses the three-dimensional (3-D) surface texture of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films with sputtered iron nanoparticles (Fe NPs @ a-C: H) deposited by RF-Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (RF-PECVD) method on the quartz substrates. The prepared Fe NPs @ a-C: H films were used as research materials. The synthesized samples were deposited at four different pressures of 2.5, 3, 3.35 and 3.5 N/m 2 in the acetylene gas atmosphere. The Fe and C content of the thin films was obtained from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). X-ray diffraction profile and electron diffraction pattern indicates that iron nanoparticles with body-centered cubic crystalline structure are formed in these films. Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) peak that is signature of the existence of the Fe core nanoparticles appears in visible spectra of these films. The sample surface images were recorded using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) operating in a non-contact mode and analyzed to reveal statistical, fractal and functional surface properties of prepared samples. The analysis of 3-D surface texture is essential for the correct interpretation of surface topographic features as well as its functional role for the test surface. It also helps to understand the relationship between the surface topography and the functional properties.

The effect of initial pressure on growth of FeNPs in amorphous carbon films

“…All experiments were done at room temperature on quartz substrate and RF plasma system was activated by acetylene gas. The details of method can be seen in our pervious paper [10]. Two electrodes and RF power create plasma.…”

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Surface Morphology Analysis of Composite Thin Films based on Titanium-Dioxide Nanoparticles

“…These methods demonstrated their applicability for studies of various structures, including: thin diamond films [20], Fe nanoparticles on foreign substrates [21], and even magnetic domains [22]. The statistical and fractal characteristics can be derived from the autocorrelation function R (see Fig.…”

Analysis of Crystallite Size Changes in an Oxide Layer Formed on Steel Used in the Power Industry

“…An intensive development of technology causes continuous increase of a wide base of research methods such as: atomic force microscopy (AFM) [5,6], scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [7,8] and X-ray diffraction (XRD) [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Especially methods such as XRD or SEM are widely used for analysis of the oxide layers [4,7,11,[13][14][15].…”