Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5352613 | Applied Surface Science | 2013 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
NbN/AlN nano-multilayer films with modulation periodicity (Î) ranging from 3.9 to 31.6 nm have been deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/N2 mixtures. The Î dependent structural, mechanical and tribological properties for resulting NbN/AlN multilayers have been explored. As Î varies from 3.9 to 31.6 nm, the crystal structures of NbN and AlN are face-centered cubic and hexagonal in multilayer films, respectively, favoring formation of a coherent epitaxial growth with crystallographic relationship of 111NbN110NbN//0002AlN112¯0AlN due to total energy minimization, and large Î can improve mutual coherence and promote coherent growth of fcc-NbN(1 1 1)/w-AlN(0 0 0 2). The remarkable hardness enhancement implements in a wide range of Î from 3.9 to 31.6 nm for NbN/AlN multilayer system, which can be mainly attributed to hindering the dislocation motion caused by heterostructure coherent interface of fcc-NbN(1 1 1)/w-AlN(0 0 0 2). Although all multilayers show lower friction coefficient than constituent monolayers, great improvements in the wear behaviors only appear in multilayers with Π= 3.9 and 7.4 nm due to their large content of interfaces.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Authors
Mao Wen, Hao Huang, Kan Zhang, Qingnan Meng, Xin Li, Xiaoming Zhang, Lingwei Kong, Weitao Zheng,