1st Edition

Novel Nanocomposite Coatings Advances and Industrial Applications

Edited By Rostislav Daniel, Jindřich Musil Copyright 2013
    344 Pages 4 Color & 113 B/W Illustrations
    by Jenny Stanford Publishing

    Nanocomposite materials as a special class of nanostructured materials have recently attracted great interest due to their extraordinary mechanical properties as well as thermal stability and oxidation resistance. The unique structure and exceptional properties make nanocomposite materials a possible alternative to traditional polycrystalline materials, which have met their limits in many recent engineering applications. In particular, nanocomposite coatings synthesized by plasma-assisted deposition processes under highly non-equilibrium conditions provide a high potential for new applications as protective and functional coatings in automotive, aerospace, tooling, electronic, or manufacturing industry.

    This book provides a comprehensive overview of the synthesis of Si-containing hard nanocomposite coatings based on transition metal nitrides by plasma-based thin film processing. It demonstrates the full versatility of these nanocomposites for low Si-containing coatings tailored with superior mechanical properties and novel high Si-containing nanocomposite coatings with extraordinary thermal stability and resistance against oxidation optimized for high-temperature applications. It pays special attention to understanding growth mechanisms of these structures under specific deposition conditions, structure–property relations, and stability of individual constituents to enhance their functionality for various applications.

    Synthesis of New Nanostructured Materials
    Nanocrystalline Materials
    Multilayers and Superlattices
    Nanocomposite Films

    Thin Film Processing
    Principles of Plasma Discharges
    Physical Sputtering and Transport of Sputtered Material
    Sputter Deposition Techniques. Reactive Sputter Deposition

    Film Formation and Structure
    of Sputtered Material
    Interface Formation
    Nucleation and Growth
    Microstructure of Thin Films, Structure Zone Models, Advantages and Limitations of Sputter Deposition Processes
    Structure-Property Relation in Hard Films

    Me-Si-N Films With a Low and Intermediate Si Content
    Structure, Morphology and Phase Composition Hardness and Macrostress Oxidation Resistance Problems with Reproducibility

    Novel nanocomposite films - Zr-Si-N Films with a High Si Content
    Deposition Rate
    Elemental Composition
    Chemical Bonding and Phase Composition
    Electrical and Optical Properties
    Structure. Morphology
    Surface Roughness
    Mechanical Properties
    Macrostress
    Effect of Substrate Bias
    Thermal Stability
    Oxidation Resistance

    High Si-containing W-Si-N Nanocomposite Films
    Deposition Rate
    Elemental Composition
    Chemical Bonding and Phase Composition
    Structure
    Morphology
    Surface Roughness
    Mechanical Properties
    Macrostress
    Oxidation Resistance

    Characterization of Thin Films.
    Mechanical Properties
    X-Ray Diffraction Analysis
    Stress Measurement
    Film Thickness Measurement
    Scanning Electron Microscopy
    Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry
    Differential Scanning Calorimetry
    Thermogravimetric Analysis

    Biography

    Rostislav Daniel is associate professor at the Department of Physical Metallurgy and Materials Testing, University of Leoben, Austria. He received his MSc in applied sciences and computer engineering, applied physics and physical engineering and PhD in applied sciences and computer engineering, plasma physics and physics of thin films at the University of West Bohemia. His main research areas are plasma physics and physics of thin films, synthesis of advanced hard nanocrystalline and nanocomposite thin films of optimized structures and physical properties, advanced structural characterization of solids, characterization of mechanical properties of thin films and bulk solids, measurements of residual stresses in thin films by optical and x-ray diffraction techniques, investigations of thermo-mechanical properties of thin films and bulk solids, study of thermal stability and oxidation resistance of thin films and bulk solids, and coating design and architecture.

    Jindřich Musil is professor of applied physics at the University of West Bohemia, Plzeň, Czech Republic. He received his MSc in electrical engineering at the Military Technical University, Brno, Czech Republic; PhD in physics and mathematics at Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic; and DSc in physics and mathematics at Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic. His main research areas are electromagnetic field, propagation of electromagnetic waves, microwave plasma discharges, plasma physics, thermonuclear fusion, lasers, plasma chemistry and physics of thin films, PVD and PACVD of thin films, high-rate pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering, and development of new technological processes and advanced systems for synthesis of novel hard and functional nanocomposite coatings.