Jakub Zalesak

Combinatorial refinement of thin-film microstructure, properties and process conditions: iterative nanoscale search for self-assembled TiAlN nanolamellae

A novel iterative combinatorial nanoscale search based on the application of cross-sectional synchrotron X-ray nanodiffraction and cross-sectional nanoindentation is used to refine the relationship between deposition conditions, microstructure and properties of nanostructured TiAlN thin films. Using three iterative steps, a nanolamellar TiAlN thin film with a maximal hardness of ∼36u2005GPa is developed.

Ab initio studies on the adsorption and implantation of Al and Fe to nitride materials

The formation of transfer material products on coated cutting and forming tools is a major failure mechanism leading to various sorts of wear. To describe the atomistic processes behind the formation of transfer materials, we use ab initio to study the adsorption energy as well as the implantation barrier of Al and Fe atoms for (001)-oriented surfaces of TiN, Ti0.50Al0.50N, Ti0.90Si0.10N, CrN, and Cr0.90Si0.10N. The interactions between additional atoms and nitride-surfaces are described for pure adhesion, considering no additional stresses, and for the implantation barrier. The latter, we simplified to the stress required to implant Al and Fe into sub-surface regions of the nitride material. The adsorption energies exhibit pronounced extrema at high-symmetry positions and are generally highest at nitrogen sites. Here, the binary nitrides are comparable to their ternary counterparts and the average adhesive energy is higher (more negative) on CrN than TiN based systems. Contrary, the implantation barrier ...