Wear resistant sliding layer of silicon-containing aluminum alloy, e.g. for crankshaft bearings, is formed by gas phase deposition and heat treated to form macrocrystalline silicon deposits

摘要

In the production of a sliding layer of aluminum alloy (I), containing bismuth and/or tin, copper and silicon, by (a) depositing the components of (I) in microcrystalline or amorphous form from the gas phase onto a substrate and (b) heat-treating, the temperature and duration of step (b) are selected to cause recrystallization and grain growth of the silicon so that macrocrystalline silicon deposits are formed. In the production of a sliding layer of aluminum alloy (I), containing bismuth and/or tin, copper and silicon as essential alloying components, by (a) depositing the components of (I) in microcrystalline or amorphous form from the gas phase onto a substrate by physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition or sputtering and (b) heat-treating the obtained layer, the temperature and duration of step (b) are selected to cause recrystallization and grain growth of the silicon so that macrocrystalline silicon deposits are formed. An independent claim is included for a sliding layer of (I) deposited from the gas phase, in which the silicon deposits are mainly in the form of macrocrystalline, globular deposits in a homogeneous, microcrystalline matrix of (I).