TETRAHEDRAL AMORPHOUS CARBON-TITANIUM FILMS

摘要

Tetrahedral amorphous carbon-titanium nanocomposite films of >1 micron thickness were deposited on Ti-Al-V alloy substrates using a novel multicomponent target design during pulsed laser deposition. Titanium carbide nanolayers were observed in tetrahedral amorphous carbon-titanium nanocomposite films. These nanocomposite films were characterized using Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM-Z) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Scratch testing demonstrated good adhesion of tetrahedral amorphous carbon-titanium nanocomposite films to Ti-Al-V alloy. Nanoindentation testing of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon-titanium films demonstrated excellent hardness and modulus values, within the range of 29 GPa and 274 GPa, respectively. Wear testing demonstrated coating lifetimes in excess of 10,000 cycles for tests conducted in Ringer's USP solution under ～ 1 GPa initial maximum Hertzian pressure.