Peter Isberg

Magnetron sputtered epitaxial single-phase Ti3SiC2 thin films

We report on the synthesis and characterization of epitaxial single-crystalline Ti3SiC2 films (Mn+1AXn-phase). Two original deposition techniques are described, (i) magnetron sputtering from Ti3SiC2 compound target and (ii) sputtering from individual titanium and silicon targets with co-evaporated C60 as carbon source. Epitaxial Ti3SiC2 films of single-crystal quality were grown at 900 °C with both techniques. Epitaxial TiC(111) deposited in situ on MgO(111) by Ti sputtering using C60 as carbon source was used to nucleate the Ti3SiC2 films. The epitaxial relationship was found to be Ti3SiC2(0001)//TiC(111)//MgO(111) with the in-plane orientation Ti3SiC2[100]//TiC[101]//MgO[101].

Structural, electrical, and mechanical properties of nc-TiC∕a-SiC nanocomposite thin films

We have synthesized Ti–Si–C nanocomposite thin films by dc magnetron sputtering from a Ti3SiC2 compound target in an Ar discharge on Si(100), Al2O3(0001), and Al substrates at temperatures from roo ...

Synthesis and characterization of Ti-Si-C compounds for electrical contact applications

We present a growth study of Ti-Si-C thin films on Cu and Al substrates for contact resistance studies. The films were grown by magnetron sputtering from Ti/sub 3/SiC/sub 2/ compound targets at temperatures from 100 /spl deg/C to 300 /spl deg/C. The films consist of TiC/sub x/ nanocrystallites embedded in an amorphous SiC matrix. Mechanically, the Ti-Si-C films exhibit a nanoindentation hardness of 20 GPa and an elastic modulus of 290 GPa, reflecting a carbidic nature but with a remarkable ductile behavior. In electrical contact studies, the contact resistance of the Ti-Si-C films, deposited on Ni-plated Al washers at 300 /spl deg/C, against Ag was comparable to that of Ag against Ag at high contact forces (6 /spl mu//spl Omega/, and 3.2 /spl mu//spl Omega/, respectively, at 800 N). At lower forces the difference is significant due to the formation of surface oxides. In a crossed cylinder setup, the contact resistance of Ti-Si-C films deposited on Ni-plated Cu cylinders is typically a factor 5 higher than that of Ag against Ag. Encouragingly, Ti-Si-C films deposited at 100 /spl deg/C exhibited contact resistances less than double of that of films deposited at 300 /spl deg/C. We conclude that, while significant work remains on process optimization and analysis, Ti-Si-C has high potential in general electrical contact applications.