Hybrid Plasma Deposition Methods for Synthesis of Nanostructured Materials

Abstract

Hybrid deposition techniques facilitate a high degree of structural control at low substrate temperatures, permitting growth of nanostructured materials, which are not possible to produce by other methods. Several hybrid processes were studied, where pulsed plasma plumes from an excimer laser ablation were combined with continuous plasma generated by non-pulsed sources. One was a hybrid of laser ablation and ion beam deposition, where short-lived interactions between two plasma sources were explored to produce AlON films. The process was used as a base for the development Al₂O₃/MoS₂ nanocomposite coatings. Another hybrid process was a combination of laser ablation with magnetron sputtering (MSPLD), where highly energetic plasma plumes from laser ablation were intersected with a magnetron-generated plasma containing sputtered metal atoms. MSPLD was used to prepare a number of nanostructured coatings, including WC/DLC, WC/DLC/WS₂, YSZ/Au, and YSZ/Au/MoS₂/DLC nano-composites for wear protection of engineering components. Recently we initiated exploration of a new hybrid process, using filtered vacuum arc and magnetron sputtering, as an aletranative to MSPLD. Initial studies were performed in preparing Ti-TiC-DLC and Ti-TiC-CN_x functionally gradient coatings.