Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Boron-Nitride Thin Films by Ion Milling and Thermal Treatment for Tribological Coatings: An Approach to Quantifying the Growth Dynamic Process

Abstract

Hexagonal boron-nitride nanoparticle coating was deposited on AISI 1045 steel surface. The deposition process included a transformation of B-containing thin organic film into nanocrystalline BN using two methods: thermal annealing at 450–850 °C and reactive ion etching in Ar/N2 plasma. The film structure, phases, and film morphology of deposited nanoparticles of boron nitride on AISI 1045 steel were characterized by XPS, XRD, and EDS. Post-annealing at 450 °C does not lead to the formation of a BN phase in the layer. A non-stoichiometric BN phase with nitrogen deficiency appears at 650 °C. At 850 °C annealing, the formed BN phase is completely stoichiometric. The effects of deposited and incorporated BN on the friction and hardness properties of AISI 1045 steel were also studied. The post-annealing process improved the hardness from 5.35 to 11.4 GPa, showing a pronounced linear temperature dependence. An original approach was adopted to quantify the energy-dependent growth constants based on the indentation load-discharge curves measured on samples treated under different conditions. Those constants describe the rate of the reactions and the type of interdiffusion process characteristic for each material used. This approach can partially fulfill the role of the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry profile, which is an expensive and time-consuming process, mainly when light elements such as boron and nitrogen are used.

On The Analysis of Physical Properties of Thermointerfaces Based on Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanostructures for Cooling the Electronic Component Base of Microand Nano electronics

“…The density of the samples ρ was determined after pre-thermostating at a temperature of plus 100 ⁰C in a vacuum by direct measurement of geometric dimensions and mass. Initially a multi-layer system was measured, after each measurement the analyst's software performed a calculation of the thermal conductivity and heat conductivity of the sample without taking into account the influence of the cuvette on the physical properties of the samples taking into account their thickness h. Profilometry of the compressed at a pressure of 300 MPa samples "L" and "P" was carried out by measuring the surface roughness by optical profilometry using an optical profilometer WYKO NT 1100 [10].…”

On the Analysis of Physical Properties of Thermointerfaces Based on Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanostructures for Cooling the Electronic Component Base of Micro- and Nanoelectronics

“…The thermal diffusivity α of the sample is determined by the formula 10: The density of the samples ρ was determined after pre-thermostating at a temperature of plus 100 ⁰C in a vacuum by direct measurement of geometric dimensions and mass. Initially a multi-layer system was measured, after each measurement the analyst's software performed a calculation of the thermal conductivity and heat conductivity of the sample without taking into account the influence of the cuvette on the physical properties of the samples taking into account their thickness h. Profilometry [10] of the compressed at a pressure of 300 MPa samples "L" and "P" was carried out by measuring the surface roughness by optical profilometry using an optical profilometer WYKO NT 1100.…”