Characterization of Platinum-Based Thin Films Deposited by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) Method.

Sebastian Cozma,Aurelia Mandes,Rodica Vlǎdoiu,Virginia Dinca,Vilma Buršíková,Gabriel Prodan

doi:10.3390/ma13071796

Sebastian Cozma, Aurelia Mandes + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13071796

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Apr 10, 2020
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Ovidius University, Masaryk University

Abstract

The current work aimed to characterize the morphology, chemical, and mechanical properties of Pt and PtTi thin films deposited via thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) method on glass and silicon substrates. The deposited thin films were characterized by means of a scanning electron microscope technique (SEM). The quantitative elemental microanalysis was done using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The tribological properties were studied by a ball-on-disc tribometer, and the mechanical properties were measured using nanoindentation tests. The roughness, as well as the micro and nanoscale features, were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The wettability of the deposited Pt and PtTi thin films was investigated by the surface free energy evaluation (SFE) method. The purpose of our study was to prove the potential applications of Pt-based thin films in fields, such as nanoelectronics, fuel cells, medicine, and materials science.

Highlights

Platinum (Pt) is considered as a promising material for industrial applications due to its unique properties, such as corrosion resistance, high electronic conductivity, thermal stability, excellent chemical stability, high catalytic activity, and good solubility for hydrogen and oxygen
The main applications of Pt thin films are found in the automotive industry, where it is used in catalytic converters for vehicle emissions control devices
The scanning electron microscope technique (SEM) images of the Pt and PtTi thin film deposited on Si substrate showed great layer uniformity, a considerable purity without noteworthy inclusions or surface defects (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Platinum (Pt) is considered as a promising material for industrial applications due to its unique properties, such as corrosion resistance, high electronic conductivity, thermal stability, excellent chemical stability, high catalytic activity, and good solubility for hydrogen and oxygen. The main applications of Pt thin films are found in the automotive industry, where it is used in catalytic converters for vehicle emissions control devices. The total interfacial and surface energy of Pt thin film can be minimized by reducing the ceramic-metal contact area by creating islands of Pt material. This leads to a loss of electrical conductivity and a considerable decrease in functionality, reliability, and sensitivity of MEMS [8,9,10]. Determination and control of residual stress in Pt thin films is important for industrial applications. In spite of their importance, residual stresses are difficult to foresee, and there are only a few studies [11,12]

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