Structural, mechanical and tribological characterization of chromium oxide thin films prepared by post-annealing of Cr thin films

Structural, mechanical and tribological characterization of chromium oxide thin films prepared by post-annealing of Cr thin films

•Annealing of Cr films isn’t a suitable method for Cr2O3 hard coatings preparation.•This method is suitable for production of Cr3O phase with higher hardness values.•The 400°C is a temperature of phase transition for chromium oxide thin films.•All annealed chromium oxide thin films show a compressiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied surface science Vol. 284; pp. 489 - 496
Main Authors: Khojier, K., Savaloni, H., Ashkabusi, Z., Dehnavi, N.Z.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-11-2013
Elsevier
Subjects:
Annealing
Chromium
Chromium oxide
Chromium oxides
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology
Crystallographic structure
Exact sciences and technology
Friction
Friction coefficient
Hardness
Morphology
Nanostructure
Physics
Thin films
Tribology
X-ray diffraction
Thin films
Crystallographic structure
Friction coefficient
Hardness
Chromium oxide
Morphology
Annealing
Friction factor
Crystal structure
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Summary:•Annealing of Cr films isn’t a suitable method for Cr2O3 hard coatings preparation.•This method is suitable for production of Cr3O phase with higher hardness values.•The 400°C is a temperature of phase transition for chromium oxide thin films.•All annealed chromium oxide thin films show a compressive strain. This paper addresses the structural, mechanical and tribological properties of chromium oxide thin films produced by post-annealing of Cr thin films. First, chromium thin films were deposited on Si substrate by DC magnetron sputtering technique, and then post-annealed at different temperatures (200–600°C) with flow of oxygen. Crystallographic structure of samples was obtained using X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The XRD patterns showed Cr3O structure for annealed samples at 200°C and 300°C and Cr2O3 structure for annealed samples at 500°C and 600°C. The sample annealed at 400°C also showed a transition (mixed) phase consisting of both of these phases. Nano-strain investigation for all samples showed compressive strain. Surface physical morphology of samples was studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). These studies showed smaller grains and smoother surfaces for annealed films at lower temperatures, while the increasing of annealing temperature caused the increasing of grain diameter and surface roughness. Nano-indentation and scratch tests were used to investigate the mechanical and tribological properties, respectively. The results showed that the post-annealing of Cr thin films was not a suitable method for preparation of Cr2O3 hard coatings; however this method was suitable for production of Cr3O phase with higher hardness and lower scratch volume and friction coefficient values.
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ISSN:0169-4332
1873-5584
DOI:10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.07.123