Toughness Evaluation of Thin Hard Coatings and Films

Thin Films and Coatings - Advances in Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1201/b18729-3 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 47-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Xiaomin Zhang ◽

Ben Beake ◽

Sam Zhang

Keyword(s):

Hard Coatings ◽

Toughness Evaluation

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Toughness evaluation of hard coatings and thin films

Thin Solid Films ◽

10.1016/j.tsf.2011.09.036 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 520 (7) ◽

pp. 2375-2389 ◽

Cited By ~ 154

Author(s):

Sam Zhang ◽

Xiaomin Zhang

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Hard Coatings ◽

Toughness Evaluation

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Microstructural characterization of sol-gel coating on PET films

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100172164 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 886-887

Author(s):

R. T. Chen ◽

R.A. Norwood

Keyword(s):

Ion Beam ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Industrial Applications ◽

Hard Coatings ◽

Nanometer Scale ◽

Ion Beam Sputtering ◽

Process Technology ◽

Refractive Index Measurement ◽

Organically Modified ◽

Pet Films

Sol-gel processing has been used to control the structure of a material on a nanometer scale in preparing advanced ceramics and glasses. Film coating using the sol-gel process was also found to be a viable process technology in applications such as optical, porous, antireflection and hard coatings. In this study, organically modified silicate (Ormosil) coatings are applied to PET films for various industrial applications. Sol-gel materials are known to exhibit nanometer scale structures which havepreviously been characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), neutron scattering and light scattering. Imaging of the ultrafine sol-gel structures has also been performed using an ultrahigh resolution replica/TEM technique. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ultrafine structures inthe sol gel coatings using a direct imaging technique: atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, correlation of microstructures with processing parameters, coating density and other physical properties will be discussed.The materials evaluated are organically modified silicate coatings on PET film substrates. Refractive index measurement by the prism coupling method was used to assess density of the sol-gel coating.AFM imaging was performed on a Nanoscope III AFM (by Digital Instruments) using constant force mode. Solgel coating samples coated with a thin layer of Ft (by ion beam sputtering) were also examined by STM in order to confirm the structures observed in the contact type AFM. In addition, to compare the previous results, sol-gel powder samples were also prepared by ultrasonication followed by Pt/Au shadowing and examined using a JEOL 100CX TEM.

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