Morphology of brass films sputtered on celloidin substrate towards high-gloss pigment

Abstract

Film-transition technique is put forward to manufacture high-gloss metallic pigment. The effect of chamber pressure, target-to-substrate distance and sputtering voltage on morphology of brass film sputtered on celloidin substrate has been studied with atomic force microscopy and surface glossmeter. Polycrystalline films with different roughness are obtained through changing the sputtering conditions. The results show that all of the brass films have ellipsoidal surface, well-ordered grain orientation, large grain size and uniform grain distribution, resulting in low surface roughness and high surface luster of brass films. At the condition of chamber pressure 15 Pa, target-to-substrate distance 3.4 cm, sputtering voltage 1.5 kV and sputtering time 30 min, the brass film with thickness 41 nm, Cu content 69.5–73.6%, surface roughness 4.85 nm and surface gloss 136.7 Gs is deposited, revealing the great possibility for high-gloss metallic pigment.