Nanomechanical and Nanotribological Properties of Nanostructured Coatings of Tantalum and Its Compounds on Steel Substrates

Abstract

The present paper addresses the problem of identification of microstructural, nanomechanical, and tribological properties of thin films of tantalum (Ta) and its compounds deposited on stainless steel substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering. The compositions of the obtained nanostructured films were determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy. Surface morphology was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The coatings were found to be homogeneous and have low roughness values (<10 nm). The values of microhardness and elastic modulus were obtained by means of nanoindentation. Elastic modulus values for all the coatings remained unchanged with different atomic percentage of tantalum in the films. The values of microhardness of the tantalum films were increased after incorporation of the oxygen and nitrogen atoms into the crystal lattice of the coatings. The coefficient of friction, CoF, was determined by the AFM method in the “sliding” and “plowing” modes. Deposition of the coatings on the substrates led to a decrease of CoF for the coating-substrate system compared to the substrates; thus, the final product utilizing such a coating will presumably have a longer service life. The tantalum nitride films were characterized by the smallest values of CoF and specific volumetric wear.

Resistive Switching and Synaptic Characteristics in ZnO/TaON-Based RRAM for Neuromorphic System

“…In Figure 1e, the binding energy peaks for metallic Ta and TaN correspond to 22.39 and 23.38 eV, respectively [47]. The positions at 25.18 and 26 eV are attributed to TaON and Ta2O5, respectively [48]. The spectra of N 1s have two peaks located at 401.46 and 397.36 eV.…”

Structural and mechanical properties of magnetron-sputtering-deposited Ta- and Al- based coatings – a comparative analysis

“…The bond energy values confirmed that the Al2O3, coating's chemical composition was close to stoichiometric. In addition, the photoelectron spectra of Ta4f, O1s, N1s of the Ta-based coatings were also registered [4], including the photoelectron lines for Ta (4f7/2) and Ta (4f5/2). Ta +5 signals were recorded at the binding energies of 26.8 eV and 28.7 eV.…”

“…Recently, tantalum was also found to be a possible material of choice replacing other extensively used metals for implants in orthopedics. In addition, many studies have shown that tantalum and its compounds demonstrate excellent chemical stability, biocompatibility and antibacterial properties for further use in the medical practice [3][4][5].…”

Microstructure, Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Arc Ion Plating NbN-Based Nanocomposite Films

“…The mechanical properties of NbN-Ag nanocomposite film are greatly improved via designing the NbN/NbN-Ag multilayer structure. Generally speaking, the wear resistance is strongly dependent upon the film hardness, and the increased hardness could reduce the real contact region with the matched ball [ 3 ], and thus, the hard NbN/NbN-Ag multilayer film exhibited superior wear resistance compared with the soft NbN-Ag nanocomposite film. The predominant wear mechanisms for multilayer film were adhesive wear and oxidation wear, since the Nb, Ag and O elements of film were found on the wear scars of Al 2 O 3 balls (see Figure 10 ), and Nb 2 O 5 as well as AgNbO 3 existed on the wear track of multilayer film.…”

“…Transition metal nitride films (e.g., TiN, CrN, TiAlN, etc.) fabricated by different physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques have been widely used for various purposes in the past few decades due to their superior mechanical properties, thermal stability, corrosion resistance and tribological properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. However, with the rapid development of modern industry, more and more engineering components are utilized under harsher operating conditions of high speeds and high temperatures [ 8 ]; thus, the traditional nitride films are no longer effective in protecting workpieces due to their poor tribological properties at high-temperature.…”