Effect of Ar/N2 flow ratio on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-Cr-N coatings deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on AISI D2 tool steels

Ti-Cr-N coatings were deposited on Si (100) and AISI D2 tool steel substrates by reactive DC magnetron co- sputtering technique from titanium and chromium target in mixed Ar/N2 atmosphere. The Ar/N2 ratio effects on the chemical composition, structure, morphology, intrinsic stress and mechanical properties of the Ti-Cr-N coatings were investigated. The growing process of Ti-Cr-N coatings can be divided into three stages: Stage I, in poisoning mode (low flow ratio 1 3). For all samples, XRD analysis shown the formation of mixed nitrides phases. In stage I, Ti2N, TiN0.3, and hexagonal-Cr2N phases were observed. In Stage II, TiN0.3, Cr2N, and cubic-TiN phases were formed, while only TiN and Cr2N are observed in stage III. The coatings deposited with Ar/N₂ ratio of 3 shows the largest hardness of 24 GPa which is attribute to the dense structure and smoother surface morphology. The properties of the films are discussed in terms of evolution growth stages resulting by the variation of Ar/N2 flow ratios

Residual stress, mechanical and microstructure properties of multilayer Mo2N/CrN coating produced by R.F Magnetron discharge

We have investigated the effect of the period thickness of the multilayer Mo2N/CrN deposited on Si substrate produced by reactive magnetron sputtering. Mo2N presents a face centered cubic structure and CrN an orthorhombic one. The residual stress of the coatings was determined by the measurement of the substrate curvature. The microstructure of the multilayer was investigated from the X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (cross section images). The residual stresses resulting from the deposition of the different bi-layer thickness were measured and correlated to the structural properties of the coating as well as the nanoindentation analysis of the coating. The stresses are compressive and tensile for the individual Mo2N and CrN layer respectively. The result shows that an increase of the multilayer coatings Mo2N/CrN thicknesses induce an increase of the hardness and the elastic modulus, in the other hand the tensile stress increases. The shift of the XRD diffraction peak (1 1 1) of Mo2N at high angle which means the reduction of the residual stress is in good agreement with the residual stresses measurements

Correlation between mechanical and microstructural properties of molybdenum nitride thin films deposited on silicon by reactive RF magnetron discharge

Molybdenum nitride thin films were deposited on (100) silicon substrates by R.F. magnetron sputtering of a Mo target in a (Ar-N2) gas mixtures. The films were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction. The nanomechanical properties have been determined by nanoindentation and Peak-Force Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (PF-QNM). The total internal stresses were determined by curvature measurements and the Stoney formula. As thin film composition influences the morphology, the stress state and the mechanical properties, modifications are expected in this study where the nitrogen content is tuned. The film exhibits a polycrystalline structure with preferred orientation along (111) plane. The increase of the nitrogen content in the coating (N/Mo =1.1) induces a broadening of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (111) diffraction peak, which is attributed to the presence of smaller crystallites. The residual stress and mechanical properties variation were correlated to the structural transition from γ-Mo2N to hexagonal and cubic MoN. The results show a good agreement between the nanomechanical properties obtained by nanoindentation and PF-QNM

High performance silicon nanowires/ruthenium nanoparticles micro-supercapacitors

International audienceThe continuous increase of small electronic devices calls for small energy storage components, commonly known as micro-supercapacitors, that can ensure autonomous operation of these devices. In this work, we propose a simple and straightforward method to achieve high energy and power densities of a silicon-based micro-supercapacitor, consisting of silicon nanowires decorated with ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru/Si NWs). The Si NWs are obtained through the common vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism, while a simple electroless process is used to deposit Ru nanoparticles. While silicon nanostructuration allows to increase the surface area, coating with Ru NPs introduces a pseudocapacitance necessary to attain high energy and power densities. The Ru/Si NWs micro-supercapacitor exhibits a specific capacitance of 36.25 mF cm(-2) at a current density of 1 mA cm(-2) in a neutral Na2SO4 electrolyte and a high stability over 25 000 cycles under galvanostatic charge-discharge at 1 mA cm(-2). A solid state supercapacitor is then fabricated with symmetric electrodes separated by a polyvinyl alcohol/sulfuric acid electrolyte. The device displays a specific capacitance of similar to 18 mF cm(-2) at a current density of 1 mA cm(-2) and a specific power density 0.5 mW cm(-2). This solid-state nanowire device also exhibits a good stability over 10 000 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles

Silicon nanowire-hydrogenated TiO2 core-shell arrays for stable electrochemical micro-capacitors

International audienceIn this paper, we fabricated silicon nanowire-TiO2 core-shell arrays in a two-step process. First, silicon nanowire arrays (SiNW) were prepared in HF/AgNO3 aqueous solution using metal-assisted chemical etching of bulk silicon. Then, atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique was applied to coat a 20 nm thin shell TiO2 film. The TiO2/SiNW substrates were afterward annealed at 400°C in hydrogen atmosphere for 4 h and tested as electrode materials for electrochemical micro-capacitors. The electrochemical features of the constructed H−TiO2/SiNW electrode were assessed in an aqueous 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte solution and revealed that the specific capacitance increased six times compared to non-annealed TiO2/SiNW and 20-fold compared to a reference SiNW electrode under the same operating conditions. Importantly, H−TiO2/SiNW also displayed a high stability over 30,000 cycles at 0.1 mA cm−2 with an overall decrease of 19% of the initial capacitance. The hydrogen treatment increased the density of hydroxyl group and enhanced the carrier density on TiO2 surface improving the capacitive properties of H−TiO2/SiNW

Abstracts of 1st International Conference on Computational & Applied Physics

This book contains the abstracts of the papers presented at the International Conference on Computational & Applied Physics (ICCAP’2021) Organized by the Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Films Laboratory (LASICOM), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University Saad Dahleb Blida 1, Algeria, held on 26–28 September 2021. The Conference had a variety of Plenary Lectures, Oral sessions, and E-Poster Presentations. Conference Title: 1st International Conference on Computational & Applied PhysicsConference Acronym: ICCAP’2021Conference Date: 26–28 September 2021Conference Location: Online (Virtual Conference)Conference Organizer: Surfaces, Interfaces, and Thin Films Laboratory (LASICOM), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University Saad Dahleb Blida 1, Algeria