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Interfacial adhesion and friction of pyrolytic carbon thin films on silicon substrates

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Abstract

Frictional behavior and interfacial adhesion of differently textured pyrolytic carbon layers on Si substrate were investigated by indentation and scratch testing. A large amount of elastic recovery and a low coefficient of friction (μ = 0.05 to 0.09) were observed. Elastic/plastic and frictional behaviors of the coatings are strongly influenced by the microstructure of the pyrolytic carbon films, especially by the texture. The critical load at which the first abrupt increase in the normal displacement occurs was used to characterize interfacial adhesive strength. A pyrolytic carbon film deposited at higher residence time from a gas mixture containing 3% oxygen exhibited higher critical loads than film deposited at lower residence time without oxygen. The results can be understood if one assumes that the gas phase composition during deposition significantly influences the bonding strength at the interface. Failure mechanisms are discussed for both types of films.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg within projects B6 and B7 of the Kompetenznetz “Funktionelle Nanostrukturen,” and by the Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) within project B1.1 funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), the State of Baden-Württemberg and the University of Karlsruhe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Micro- and Nanomaterials, University of Ulm, D-89081, Ulm, Germany

    N. Deyneka-Dupriez, U. Herr & H-J. Fecht

  2. Institute of Applied Physics, University of Karlsruhe, D-76128, Karlsruhe, Germany

    A. Pfrang & Th. Schimmel

  3. Research Center Karlsruhe, Institute of Nanotechnology, D-76021, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Th. Schimmel

  4. Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, University of Karlsruhe, D-76128, Karlsruhe, Germany

    B. Reznik & D. Gerthsen

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  1. N. Deyneka-Dupriez
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  2. U. Herr
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  3. H-J. Fecht
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  4. A. Pfrang
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  5. Th. Schimmel
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  6. B. Reznik
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  7. D. Gerthsen
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Correspondence to N. Deyneka-Dupriez.

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Deyneka-Dupriez, N., Herr, U., Fecht, HJ. et al. Interfacial adhesion and friction of pyrolytic carbon thin films on silicon substrates. Journal of Materials Research 23, 2749–2756 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0339

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0339

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