Scratching resistance of SiC-rich nano-coatings produced by noble gas ion mixing

Rácz, A. S. and Dworschak, D. and Valtiner, M. and Menyhárd, M. (2020) Scratching resistance of SiC-rich nano-coatings produced by noble gas ion mixing. SURFACE AND COATINGS TECHNOLOGY. pp. 1-25. ISSN 0257-8972

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Abstract

SiC-rich nano-layers were produced at room temperature by applying ion beam mixing of various C/Si multilayer structures using argon and xenon ions with energy in the range of 40–120 keV and fluences between 0.25 and 3 × 1016 ions/cm2. The mechanical behavior of the layers was characterized by scratch test. The scratching resistance of the ion mixed samples has been measured by standard scratch test applying an atomic-force microscope with a diamond-coated tip (radius < 15 nm) and they were compared to that measured on Si single crystal. The applied load varied in the range of 4–18 μN. The scratching resistance of the samples correlated with the effective areal density of the SiC; with increasing effective areal density the scratch depth decreases. Above sufficiently high effective areal density of SiC the scratch resistance (hardness) of the produced layer was somewhat higher than that of single crystal silicon. Previously it has been shown that such layers have excellent corrosion resistive properties as well. These findings allow to tune and design the mechanical and chemical properties of the SiC protective coatings.

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