Efeito da oxidação nas análises de dureza e atrito em filmes finos de Si3N4

Abstract

Hard coatings are widely used in surface engineering of mechanical components due to their high wear resistance and reduced friction coefficients. Actually, the dry cutting techniques are demanding new materials with smart mechanical and tribological properties allowing saving cost and minimum environmental impact. However, the excellent behavior of silicon nitride coatings in terms of wear and oxidation resistance in cutting tools are not well understood. In this work, silicon nitride thin films were deposited on silicon (001) by reactive magnetron sputtering by using a radio-frequency power supply. In order to simulate an oxidative environment in cutting tool at dry machining conditions, samples were submitted to oxidative annealing in oxygen atmosphere at temperatures of 500oC and 1000oC. A posteriori, the thin films were characterized by resonant nuclear reaction elementar profilometry looking for oxygen quantification in-depth and nanoindentation and nanoscratch with unidirectional sliding tests looking for harness and friction measurements. After oxidative annealing treatments, a thin film partially oxidized layer with approximately 6 nm (T=1000oC) in-depth was formed in four times of oxidative annealing. Such partial oxidized layer allows to obtain a ultra-low friction coefficient whereas the initial hardness is maintained even at high temperatures and long times of oxidative annealing. Finally, the results were discussed from the point of view of the crystal chemical approach, where the ionic potential and the friction coefficient of various oxides are correlated, leading to expand the model to nitride systems.