V. Benavides

Study of TiC/a-C thin films growth by cathodic arc discharge varying the substrate temperature

TiC thin films were grown on 304 stainless steel substrates using the cathodic arc discharge (CAD) technique. Titanium (6N) was placed in the cathodic electrode and the substrate was placed on the anode, besides this electrode is a furnace. The substrate temperature was varied between 50 and 250 °C with increases of 50 °C. For producing the discharge, a critical damping RLC (C=0.54 mF, L=2.3 mH and R=0.46 mΩ) circuit was employed. To grow the TiC films, methane was used at a pressure of 3 mbar and a discharge voltage of 270 V. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the TiC-phase with broad peaks and low intensities, however, the films have a crystallographic texture coefficient for (111)-orientation. Using the Scherrer equation both the crystallite size and microstrain were determined. The crystallite size increased as a function of substrate temperature. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique, amorphous carbon and TiC were identified. Profiler depth was realized for identifying the distribution of both compounds in the film.

Study of multilayer coatings of Ti/TiN/TiC produced by pulsed arc discharge

This work presents a study of multilayered Ti/TiN/TiC thin films obtained using a PAPVD (Plasma Assisted Physical Vapor Deposition) system by pulsed-arc discharge. For this purpose, a titanium target and a stainless steel substrate were used, placed on the cathode and on the anode, respectively, inside a vacuum chamber. To grow these films, different gases and concentrations were required. Ti is obtained with argon gas, TiN with nitrogen, and TiC with methane, at 2.5 mbar and 5 mm distance between electrodes. By means of X ray diffraction (XRD), the phases present in the film were determined, observing (111), (200), and (100) orientations for both, TiN and TiC. Also, by employing XRD techniques, Titanium Atoms Distance (DTA) was calculated at the interface of TiN and TiC, in order to study the crystallographic match. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) was employed in order to carry out elemental analyses in the materials. These analyses were obtained for 12 keV and 30 keV, observing the effects in the results. Taking advantage of defects generated during the growth of the multilayer, chemical composition maps were carried out, probing the combination of Ti and N in one layer and Ti and C in the other layer. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) technique allowed observing the presence of the multilayer, as well as the measurement of the thicknesses of each layer, which are in the order of nanometers.

Effects of the Substrate Temperature in AuN Thin Films by Means of X‐Ray Diffraction

Gold is used in electronic industry like electric conductor for products such as computers, mobiles phones, etc; with the drawback that it is one of the most expensive metals in the market. Gold Nitride is a new material, having excellent physics properties like high hardness, high melting point, high electric conductivity, chemical inertia and good thermodynamic stabily among others. At the moment its study is more about electronics, optics, mechanical properties and growth of the films. AuN thin films were produced by the PAPVD (Plasma assisted Physics Vapor Deposition) method, using the pulsed arc technique in a mono-vaporizer system. These films were created with an Au target of 99% purity and deposited on stainless steel 304. It was observed that heating the substrate produces small stoichiometric changes in the film, which makes small changes in the diffraction patterns to appear, like widening in the Au orientation, since the composicional gradient is varying according to the substrate temperature. Au 4f and N1s narrow spectra were analyzed using XPS (X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy), in order to observe stoichiometry in the films.

Diseño y construccion de un calotest utilizado para medir espesores de peliculas delgadas

This paper presents the design, construction and validation of equipment named “Calotest” for measuring the thickness of coatings and films. This device is necessary to characterization of coatings and films obtained at local laboratories. In order to prove the accuracy was carried out tests in Zr/ZrN coatings produced by Plasma Assisted Physical Vapor deposition