Influence of Plasma Treatment Parameters on the Structural-Phase Composition, Hardness, Moisture-Resistance, and Raman-Enhancement Properties of Nitrogen-Containing Titanium Dioxide

Abstract

The paper shows, for the first time, the prospects of treatment with a quasi-equilibrium low-temperature nitrogen plasma in an open atmosphere for the formation of super-hard, super-hydrophobic TiN/TiO2 composite coatings with pronounced Raman-enhancement properties. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Raman spectroscopy, as well as the analysis of hardness and moisture-resistance properties, are used as analytical research methods. During plasma treatment of titanium films on sapphire with a mass average temperature of 4–6 kK, an X-ray amorphous hydrophilic titanium oxide film with a low nitrogen content is formed. The nitrogen content in titanium oxide films increases with increasing treatment temperature up to 6–7 kK. In this case, an X-ray amorphous hydrophobic film is formed. With a further increase in temperature to 7–10 kK, a TiN/TiO2 composite structure based on polycrystalline rutile is formed with increased hydrophobicity and pronounced Raman enhancement properties due to the effective excitation of surface plasmon polaritons. The presence of the crystalline phase increases the dephasing time, which determines the quality of the resonance and the achievable amplification of the electromagnetic field near the TiN inclusions. All treated films on sapphire have a super-hardness above 25 GPa (Vickers hardness test) due to high grain size, the presence of nitrogen-containing inclusions concentrated along grain boundaries, and compressive stresses.

A Porous Nanostructured ZnO Layer for Ultraviolet Sensing with Quartz Crystal Microbalance Technique

“…In turn, embedding porosity into metal oxides can also give them new properties and advanced performance in many applications. Particularly, porous metal oxides of transition metals have been of interest for catalytic applications as they generally have multiple valence states and can readily form a redox cycle between the high and low oxidation states [ 12 , 13 ], while porous materials based on two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides show huge potential in the development of ultra-sensitive flexible pressure sensors for intelligent health monitoring [ 14 , 15 ], as well as semiconducting metal oxides are already finding increasing use in application fields such as gas- and bio- sensing, electromagnetic radiation photodetection, self-cleaning, hydro-, ice-, oleo- phobic, anti-reflective, anti-bacterial and other functional “smart” coatings [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Synthesis ZrON Films with Raman-Enhancement Properties Using Microwave Plasma

“…Overall, the analysis of research demonstrates the underestimation of plasma technologies. Previously [12,13], the successful application of low-temperature plasma in the formation of titanium oxynitrides, both in the form of film structures and powder, was shown. Titanium oxynitride samples were obtained using an arc plasmatron with vortex stabilization and an expanding channel.…”

“…In this regard, the presence of microhills may enhance the hydrophobic component. Additionally, nitrogen-containing inclusions can enhance hydrophobic properties [12].…”