Abstract
Boron carbide films are attractive materials for use as tribologcal coatings for low and high operating temperatures, especially for applications that require high hardness. The properties of boron carbide films prepared by cathodic arc using a heated B4C cathode are investigated. The B:C ratio in the film was about 3, and the only detected impurity was oxygen with a content below 5%. The effect of substrate bias on the film characteristics was studied. A direct correlation between hardness and elastic modulus and bias voltage applied to the substrate was observed for bias voltages in the interval of 0-500 V. Microstructure and chemistry of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3117-3120 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Materials Science |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 14 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 15 2003 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors would like to thank André Anders and Robert McGill for discussions and support during this work. Prof. Jochen Schneider at Linkoping University (Sweden) is also acknowledged for some nano-indentation measurements. The use of the facilities of the Computer Mechanics Laboratory at the University of California-Berkeley is also acknowledged. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the STTR program (Award Number DE-FG02-98ER86078). The electron microscopy was carried out at the National Center for Electron Microscopy, which is supported by the Director, Office of Energy Research, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science Division, U.S. Department of Energy.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Materials Science Division | |
| Office of Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Office of Energy Research | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | DE-FG02-98ER86078 |