Amorphous carbon-silicon alloys prepared by a high plasma density source

The addition of silicon to hydrogenated amorphous carbon can have the advantageous effect of lowering the compressive stress, improving the thermal stability of its hydrogen and maintaining a low friction coefficient up to high humidity. Most experiments to date have been on a-C1-xSix:H alloys deposited by RF plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). This method gives alloys with considerable hydrogen content and only moderate hardness. Here, we use a high plasma density source, the electron cyclotron wave resonance (ECWR) source, to prepare films with a high deposition rate. The composition and bonding in the alloys is determined by XPS, visible and UV Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. We find that it is possible to produce hard, low stress, low friction, almost humidity insensitive a-C1-xSix:H alloys with a good optical transparency and a band gap over 2 eV.

Deposition of carbon nitride films using an electron cyclotron wave resonance plasma source

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon nitride (a-C:N:H) has been synthesized using a high plasma density electron cyclotron wave resonance (ECWR) technique using N2 and C2H2 as source gases, at different ratios and a fixed ion energy (80 eV). The composition, structure and bonding state of the films were investigated and related to their optical and electrical properties. The nitrogen content in the film rises rapidly until the N2/C2H2 gas ratio reaches 2 and then increases more gradually, while the deposition rate decreases steeply, placing an upper limit for the nitrogen incorporation at 30 at%. For nitrogen contents above 20 at%, the band gap and sp3-bonded carbon fraction decrease from 1.7 to 1.1 eV and approximately 65 to 40%, respectively. Films with higher nitrogen content are less dense than the original hydrogenated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:H) film but, because they have a relatively high band gap (1.1 eV), high resistivity (109 Ω cm) and moderate sp3-bonded carbon fraction (40%), they should be classed as polymeric in nature.

Properties of amorphous carbon-silicon alloys deposited by a high plasma density source

The addition of silicon to hydrogenated amorphous carbon can have the advantageous effect of lowering the compressive stress, improving the thermal stability of its hydrogen, and maintaining a low friction coefficient up to high humidity. Most experiments to date have been on hydrogenated amorphous carbon-silicon alloys (a-C1-xSix:H) deposited by rf plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. This method gives alloys with sizeable hydrogen content and only moderate hardness. Here we use a high plasma density source known as the electron cyclotron wave resonance source to prepare films with higher sp3 content and lower hydrogen content. The composition and bonding in the alloys is determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering, elastic recoil detection analysis, visible and ultraviolet (UV) Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray reflectivity. We find that it is possible to produce relatively hard, low stress, low friction, almost humidity insensitive a-C1-xSix:H alloys with a good optical transparency and a band gap well over 2.5 eV. The friction behavior and friction mechanism of these alloys are studied and compared with that of a-C:H, ta-C:H, and ta-C. We show how UV Raman spectroscopy allows the direct detection of Si-C, Si-Hx, and C-Hx vibrations, not seen in visible Raman spectra. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Nitrogen incorporation into tetrahedral hydrogenated amorphous carbon

Structural changes induced by the incorporation of nitrogen into ta-C : H films have been studied by Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy and Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy. ta-C:H films have been synthesised using a low pressure Electron Cyclotron Wave Resonance (ECWR) source which provides a plasma beam with a high degree of ionisation and dissociation. Nitrogen was incorporated by adding N2 to the C2H2 plasma used for the deposition of ta-C : H films. The N/C atomic ratio in the films rises rapidly until the N2/C2H2 gas ratio reaches three, and then increases more gradually, while the deposition rate decreases steeply. Chemical sputtering of the forming films and the formation of molecular nitrogen within the films limit the maximum nitrogen content to about N/C = 0.6. For low nitrogen content the films retain their diamond-like properties, however as N/C atomic ratio increases, a polymeric-like material is formed, with >C=N- structures and terminating C=N and NH groups that decrease the connectivity of the network.

Influence of stochastic mesoscopic structure on macroscopic mechanical behavior of brittle material

A newly developed numerical code, MFPA(2D) (Material Failure Process Analysis), is applied to study the influence of stochastic mesoscopic structure on macroscopic mechanical behavior of rock-like materials. A set of uniaxial compression tests has been numerically studied with numerical specimens containing pre-existing crack-like flaw. The numerical results reveal the influence of random mesoscopic structure on failure process of brittle material, which indicates that the variation of failure mode is strongly sensitive to the local disorder feature of the specimen. And the patterns of the crack evolution in the specimens are very different from each other due to the random mesoscopic structure in material. The results give a good explanation for various kinds of fracture modes and peak strength variation observed in laboratory studies with specimens made from the same rock block being statistically homogenous in macro scale. In addition, the evolution of crack is more complicated in heterogeneous cases than in homogeneous cases.

Micro-scale Mechanics of the Surface-Nanocrystalline Al-Alloy Material

Based on the microscopic observations and measurements, the mechanical behavior of the surface-nanocrystallized Al-alloy material at microscale is investigated experimentally and theoretically. In the experimental research, the compressive stress-strain curves and the hardness depth curves are measured. In the theoretical simulation, based on the material microstructure characteristics and the experimental features of the compression and indentation, the microstructure cell models are developed and the strain gradient plasticity theory is adopted. The material compressive stress-strain curves and the hardness depth curves-are predicted and simulated. Through comparison of the experimental results with the simulation results, the material and model parameters are determined.

A Cip/Multi-Moment Finite Volume Method For Shallow Water Equations With Source Terms

A novel finite volume method has been presented to solve the shallow water equations. In addition to the volume-integrated average (VIA) for each mesh cell, the surface-integrated average (SIA) is also treated as the model variable and is independently predicted. The numerical reconstruction is conducted based on both the VIA and the SIA. Different approaches are used to update VIA and SIA separately. The SIA is updated by a semi-Lagrangian scheme in terms of the Riemann invariants of the shallow water equations, while the VIA is computed by a flux-based finite volume formulation and is thus exactly conserved. Numerical oscillation can be effectively avoided through the use of a non-oscillatory interpolation function. The numerical formulations for both SIA and VIA moments maintain exactly the balance between the fluxes and the source terms. 1D and 2D numerical formulations are validated with numerical experiments. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effect of Surface Condition of Electrode on the Surface Melting of Material by Laser-Guided Micro-Arc Discharge

This paper studies the surface melting in the atmosphere by YAG laser-guided micro-arc discharge. In three kinds of surface conditions (free, oiled, and polyethylene covered), we try to control the diameter and the power density of discharge pit. It is found that the power density of 3 x 10(6) W/cm(2) of discharge pit on the oiled surface is moderate to form the melted layer thicker than that of the others, adapting to strengthen the surface of material, and the power density of 1.07 x 10(7) W/cm(2) of discharge pit on the polyethylene-covered surface is highest to form the deepest discharge pit among them, adapting to remove the material.