Investigating the role of cathode in the surface modification of bell-metal by magnetron sputtering plasma.
11 November 2011
Abstract
Nano-structured titanium nitride (TiN) coating deposition has received significant interest for its excellent properties such as hardness and adhesion. The mode of the titanium cathode (target) plays an important role in the deposition of TiN coating over the bell-metal surface. Bell-metal, an alloy of copper and tin, is used for making various decorative items, idols, ornaments, musical instruments and utensils. One major problem faced by the industries is the degradation of the surface when kept in open air. A hard and corrosion resistant coating of TiN on bell-metal can solve this problem.
Cylindrical magnetron sputtering can be a possible technique of obtaining such nano-structured uniform film coatings over a large area of the substrate material. Plasma discharge characteristics during titanium nitride deposition on bell-metal have been studied in a cylindrical magnetron system in reactive gas environment of argon and nitrogen. Changes in the plasma properties have been observed due to the introduction of the reactive nitrogen gas.
Langmuir and emissive probes are used as diagnostics for the estimation of various plasma parameters – electron temperature, number density, plasma potential and potential profile. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) provides useful information on the densities of the different species constituting the reactive gas mixture.
Citation
Borah, S.M., Bailung, H. and Chutia, J., Investigating the role of cathode in the surface modification of bell-metal by magnetron sputtering plasma.
Category: Photonics & Optoelectronics