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U.S. Department of Energy
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Ion beam assisted deposition of tribological coatings

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6671695

The ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) process provides a means of depositing adherent coatings at lower process temperatures than can be achieved by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The present report reviews NRL experience in deposition TiN and Cr[sub 2]O[sub 3] coatings and the evaluation of selected surface mechanical properties. The microstructure and properties of the TiN coating were found to strongly influenced by processing conditions. Among the significant findings were the observations that the ion beam activates a process for conversion of adsorbed nitrogen to chemically bound nitrogen, That IBAD films produced at low ion to atom arrival rate ratios are soft and ductile, while those produced at arrival rate ratios of 0.3 to 0.4 are hard but still ductile, that all IBAD films are exceptionally adherent to steel substrates and that the soft films are very fine grained (<10 nm) and have a network of pores at the grain boundaries. Experiments to optimize these films for advanced automotive applications are outlined.

Research Organization:
Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AI02-88CE90024
OSTI ID:
6671695
Report Number(s):
DOE/CE/90024-1; ON: DE93011520
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English