Composite coatings incorporating solid lubricant phases

Abstract

The concept of incorporating a solid lubricant, silver (Ag), within a hard carbide film for vacuum tribology applications is investigated in this paper. SiC/Ag and HfC/Ag films were deposited by magnetron cosputtering at 200 degreesC onto Si and 440C steel substrates. The composition, phase structure, and morphology in these films was examined using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The microstructural analysis showed that Ag was incorporated both within and on the surface of the films. There was a strong tendency for Ag to segregate to the film surface. Vacuum tribology tests were conducted using a ball-on-disk test in a vacuum of 1.33 muPa with a 1 N load for 10 000 cycles. For both the SiC/Ag and HfC/Ag films, the average friction coefficients were reduced when sufficient Ag was present. These tests show that carbide-Ag composite films hold promise for vacuum tribology applications.

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Publication Date

8-1-2004

Journal Title

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Publisher

SPRINGER

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1361/10599490419928

Document Type

Article

Rights

Copyright 2004 ASM International.

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