Deposition of Ti-Si-C-Ag nanocomposite coatings as electrical contact material

• This paper is a brief review of our recent work and a follow up study on nanocomposite coatings comprising nanocrystalline TiC embedded in an amorphous SiC matrix (nc-TiC/a-SiC) with and without Ag additions applied as electrical contacts. These coating materials are deposited at very high deposition rates (>10 μm/h), to meet industrial demands of high productivity. Here we consider Ti-Si-C-Ag nanocomposite coatings with Ag content in the range of 0-22 at.% deposited in a pilot-plant or an industrial deposition system by dc magnetron sputtering from compound targets onto Si(100) and SiO2(100) substrates. The microstructure, electrical, and mechanical properties of the coatings were studied with transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electrical contact resistance, resistivity, and nanoindentation measurements. Varying the deposition parameters bias and pressure within ranges typical of coating processing had no effect on the structure. A variation was, however, observed for the contact resistance, that was determined to be in the range 400-900 mΩ at a contact force between 1.9-2.65 N. The coatings with highest Ag content had the lowest contactresistance.

Nyckelord

Nanocomposite; TiSiC coatings; Electrical contacts; Magnetron sputtering; Contact resistance; Electron microscopy

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