Change in the composition ratio of a stainless-steel alloy layer on polymer films by using ion beam sputtering deposition (IBSD)

Abstract

We successfully coated a stainless-steel alloy on a polymer substrate from a stainless-steel 304 (SUS 304) target by means of ion-beam sputtering deposition (IBSD). The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) image shows that submicron size grains are imbedded on the coated surfaces. Energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) reveals that the atomic percents of Cr and Ni for the SUS 304 coating are 6.92% and 24.85%, respectively. Compared to the as-received SUS 304, the atomic percent of Cr for the coating is reduced by more than two times while the atomic percent of Ni is increased by more than two times. We discuss why the surface morphology has submicron-sized grains and why the atomic percents for the coating are different from those for the target materials.