Hardness of Thin Films and the Influential Factors

Hardness is one of the most significant mechanical characteristics of a material. Hard materials are known for their durability. Currently, diamond is the hardest substance known in the world. Researchers have substantially worked on the production of this expensive material. Coating this material as a thin film was also the topic of a separate research. At the same time, hardness measurement, including the measurement of the hardness of a thin film was a topic of research as well. In this section, we will examine what researchers are doing for the measurement of the hardness, especially for bulk materials

Crystalline TeO2 thin film with chemical bath deposition

Tellurium oxide (TeO2) crystalline thin film has been produced with chemical bath deposition on substrates (commercial glass). Some properties of the films have been investigated by UV/VIS. The spectrum has been studied in terms of as transmittance, refractive index and reflectivity. The monoclinic and orthorhombic forms have been observed for the structural properties in XRD. The structural and optical properties of tellurium oxide thin films have been analyzed at different pHs of the chemical bath. EDX analysis has been used to determine the elemental ratio of tellurium in the films. Some properties of the films change with deposition pH. The concentration of sodium hydroxide was scanned at 2.5×10-3 M, 5×10-3 M, 7.5×10-3 M and 10×10-3 M at pHs of 10, 11, 11.50 and 12, respectively. The optical properties of the films change with the deposition pH of the chemical bath. Also, the film thickness changes with deposition pH at 12, 11.50, 11 and 10 and the respective thickness values are 900, 586, 657 and 866 nm. The optimum parameters have been determined with 10 mL 2.5×10-3 M tellurium tetrachloride, 10 mL 2.5×10-3 M of potassium hydroxide and 2 mL hydrogen peroxide at pH: 10 for producing γ-TeO2

Preparation of iodine and silver coated thin film on poly(methylmethacrylate) substrate and examination of antifungal, antibacterial and mechanistic properties

In this study, iodine (I2) and silver (Ag) have been deposited on polymer substrate, namely poly(methylmethacrylate), via chemical bath deposition (CBD). For the sake of simplicity, uncoated poly(methylmethacrylate), iodine coated poly(methylmethacrylate) thin film and silver coated iodized thin film on poly(methylmethacrylate) have been denoted as PMM, I2-PMM and Ag-I2-PMM. Capacitance of the film has been measured with a LCR meter, whereas surface tensions were measured by a tensiometer. Transmittance, reflectance and absorption properties of thin films have been investigated via an UV-vis spectrometer. Elemental composition of uncoated PMM and thin films has been discovered by means of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Elemental composition of uncoated PMM has been determined as 64% C and 36% O, whereas Ag-I2-PMM contained 28% iodine and 23% silver. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been employed to characterize the surface structure of I2-PMM and Ag-I2-PMM. In addition, antimicrobial properties of the silver coated material have been examined

CuI Film Produced by Chemical Extraction Method in Different Media

Abstract CuI crystalline thin films were produced on substrates (commercial glass) using chemical extraction method in different chemical bath media. In this study, their structural, optical and electrical properties were analyzed. Transmittance, absorption, optical band gap and refractive index of the films were examined by UV/VIS spectrum. XRD data showed that the film has a hexagonal structure for CuI. Surface and elemental (in terms of ratio) analysis of the films were performed via SEM and EDX analysis. The highest average grain size of CuI was observed for the film produced in aqueous media whereas the lowest average grain size was seen in chloroform bath. The curve formed by the number of crystallites per unit area (N) is different than the curves of dislocation density and average grain size. Number of crystallites per unit area has reached its maximum value in CCl4 bath, but it has been decreased in chloroform bath. In addition, film thickness has varied between 1232 nm and 3624 nm according to the solvent of bath

A New Route to Synthesize MnSe Thin Films by Chemical Bath Deposition Method

Manganese selenide (MnSe) crystalline thin film was produced with chemical bath deposition on substrates commercial glass). Transmittance, absorption, optical band gap and refractive index were investigated by UV/VIS spectrum.The hexagonal form was observed in the structural properties in XRD. The structural and optical properties of the MnSe thin films were analyzed at different pHs. SEM and EDX analysis were used for the surface analysis in the films. The films had the best crystalline at pH: 9.At pHs of 11 and 10 the MnSeO4 structure was observed. The films with the lowest film thickness were found in baths prepared with pH: 11. The highest refractive index was observed in films produced with a pH of 10 at a film density of 1.96. The gram size of MnSe thin films has a higher value at pH: 9

Conductive Ink Next Generation Materials: Silver Nanoparticle/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polyaniline

Conductive ink is used in many areas of the industry. There are many studies on the production of conductive ink. In this study, mixtures of 2-40 nm silver nanoparticles with a minimum shelf life of 3-4 months were prepared with polyvinyl alcohol and polyaniline. The shelf life of many conductive inks known in the literature cannot be mentioned. We measured the resistance of the films formed on the surface. In the study, we characterized the materials via FTIR, SEM, EDX, and Zetasizer analyzes. The current-voltage measurement of the films was performed by the two-point method. Compared to the literature, we achieved to reach a resistance level of 10(-6) omega cm. Moreover, the solutions we produce can be preserved for one year at room temperature without collapse or deterioration. This also enables conductive ink production, which is very suitable for industrial production

The Production of UV Absorber Amorphous Cerium Sulfide Thin Film

This study investigates the production of cerium sulfide (CeSx) amorphous thin films on substrates (commercial glass) by chemical bath deposition at different pH levels. The transmittance, absorption, optical band gap and refractive index of the films are measured by UV/VIS Spectrum. According to XRD analysis, the films show amorphous structure in the baths with pH: 1 to 5. It has been observed that the optical and structural properties of the films depend on pH value of the bath. The optical band gap (2.08 eV to 3.16 eV) of the films changes with the film thickness (23 nm to 1144 nm). We show that the refractive index has a positive relationship with the film thickness, where the values of 1.93, 1.45, 1.42, 2.60 and 1.39 are obtained for the former, and 34, 560, 509, 23 and 1144 nm (at 550 nm wavelength) for the latter. We compare the optical properties of amorphous and crystal form of CeSx thin films. We show that the optical band gaps of the amorphous CeSx are lower than that of crystal CeSx