Chromium Oxide-Nitride Thin Films: Tribology & Surface Wettability

This bookfocuses on the formation of chromium oxide-nitride films through reactive sputtering of a chromium target using oxygen nitrogen and helium gases. The aim is to investigate the effects of temperature and nitrogen flow rate on the formation of these films. X-ray diffraction analysis was employed to identify the respective oxide/nitride phases of chromium. The contact angle and surface energy of the deposited films were measured to evaluate their wettability. Results show that at lower deposition temperature (200ºC) the films are amorphous and hydrophilic. However as the temperature increases (up to 600ºC) the films become crystalline and transition from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Tribological properties of the mixed chromium oxide-nitride films were examined under different testing conditions revealing a dependence on temperature and nitrogen flow rate variations. Overall this study provides insights into the structure composition wettability and tribological behavior of these hybrid thin films.