Abstract
Boron carbide is one of the most important non-metallic materials. Amorphous BCx films were synthesized at room temperature by single- and dual-target magnetron sputtering processes. A B4C target and C target were operated using an RF signal and a DC signal, respectively. The effect of using single- and dual-target deposition and process parameters on the chemical bonding and composition of the films as well as their functional properties were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray energy dispersive analysis, X-ray diffraction, ellipsometry, and spectrophotometry. It was found that the film properties depend on the sputtering power and the used targets. EDX data show that the composition of the samples varied from B2C to practically BC2 in the case of using an additional C target. According to the XPS data, it corresponds to the different chemical states of the boron atom. A nanoindentation study showed that the film with a composition close to B2C deposited with the highest B4C target power reached a hardness of 25 GPa and Young’s modulus of 230 GPa. The optical properties of the films also depend on the composition, so the band gap (Eg) of the BCx film varied in the range of 2.1–2.8 eV, while the Eg of the carbon-rich films decreased to 1.1 eV.
Highlights
In recent years, boron carbide films have attracted great interest as hard, protective, and oxidation-resistant coatings [1,2]
This study aims to explore the effects of experimental growth conditions on the structural, optical, and mechanical properties of BCx films prepared by magnetron sputtering processes
BCx films was studied in this work
Summary
Boron carbide films have attracted great interest as hard, protective, and oxidation-resistant coatings [1,2]. In the case of PVD processes, the composition of the layers is influenced by the experimental parameters of radio frequency (RF) [18,19,20] and direct current (DC) [21,22,23] magnetron sputtering (MS), pulsed laser (PLD) [24,25], and ion-beam deposition [26,27]. It should be emphasized that, unlike CVD processes, the deposition of the films in PVD processes can be carried out at a low temperature and without using hazardous gases. In these processes, the most commonly used starting material is B4 C target, and in some works, B and C targets are sputtered
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