Mechanical Characterization Of Ultra-Thin, Hard-Disk Overcoats Using Scratch Testing And Depth-Sensing Indentation

1997 ◽  
Vol 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Hay ◽  
R. L. White ◽  
B. N. Lucas ◽  
W. C. Oliver

ABSTRACTTwo series of five diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings were sputtered under nominally identical conditions, but to different film thicknesses of 20 nm and 105 nm. First, the hardness of each sample was determined by depth-sensing indentation. Hardness measurements were substrate-affected to some extent for all samples but especially so for the 20 nm coatings. Two types of scratch tests were performed in an attempt to isolate and characterize the top coatings. The first was a wear test, which consisted of moving the sample back and forth repeatedly under a small constant load. The residual damage was inconsistent, but appeared to be a function of the composite, or substrate-affected hardness. The second test was a single-pass scratch in which the normal load was ramped linearly. For all samples, the friction coefficient was approximately constant as a function of load. Furthermore, samples with the same top coats yielded similar friction coefficients, regardless of the coating thicknesses. Friction coefficient decreased with hydrogen content and to some extent, increased with hardness, as measured on the 105 nm samples. The friction coefficient measured during a ramp-load scratch offers an alternative for characterizing ultra-thin films, when indentation alone yields measurements that are significantly affected by the substrate.

Coatings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Xie ◽  
Shihao Feng ◽  
Yongheng Qi ◽  
Ailong Cui

Coatings are normally employed to meet some functional requirements. There is a kind of self-generated coating during use, such as the transfer layer during sliding, which may greatly affect the tribological behavior. Although the transfer layer has aroused much attention recently, the formation of the transfer layer closely depends on the service conditions, which need to be further studied. In this paper, the effects of sliding speed, normal load, and duration of wear test on the transfer layer thickness during friction of Ni/PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) composites were experimentally investigated. The formation mechanism of transfer layer and the relationships between tribological properties and transfer layer thickness were analyzed in detail. It was found that the transfer layer thickness increased with increases of sliding speed and normal load; and after a period of wear test, the transfer layer thickness remained stable. The transfer layer thickness correlates linearly with the friction coefficient and wear volume of the PTFE composites. With the increase of the transfer layer thickness, the friction coefficient decreased, while the wear volume increased, which means that a uniform, thin, and stable transfer layer is beneficial for the reduction of friction and wear of the polymeric composites.


1990 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. W. Wu ◽  
A. L. shull ◽  
J. Lin

ABSTRACTThe capabilities to monitor tangential force and acoustic emission have been added to the microscratch mode of the IBM microindenter. These two new monitoring devices combined with the existing normal loadcell enhance the ability of the microscratch test to measure mechanical properties of thin film materials. As a demonstration of the upgraded microindenter, scratch tests were performed on 11 0nm and 20nm thick carbon films deposited on Si <100> substrates. The scratch morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy to correlate the mechanical data to corresponding failure mechanisms.In the case of the 110nm film, a brittle type fracture was taking place as the applied normal load exceeded a critical value. All three monitored outputs detected the first occurrence of the spallation ofthe film. In contrast to the thicker film, large scale spallation was not observed for thle 20nm film, and the acoustic emission detector did not show any significant output. An apparent friction coefficient(FR) is defined as the ratio ofthe tangential force to the normal load. FR is determined to be a useful parameter for monitoring the indenter's transition through the coating into the substrate, particularly in the case of small scale fracturing or simple ploughing through types of failure.


2014 ◽  
Vol 474 ◽  
pp. 303-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Labašová

The coefficient of friction for the bronze material (CuZn25Al6) with inset graphite beds is investigated in the present paper. Friction coefficient was investigated experimentally by the testing machine Tribotestor`89 which uses the principle of the ring on ring method. Tribotestor`89 machine may be classed to the rotary tribometers. The tested sliding pairs were of the same material. The internal bushing performed a rotational movement with constant sliding speed (v = 0.8 m s-1). The external fixed bushing was exposed to the normal load, which was of different sizes and different variations. Process of load was increased from level 50 N to 200 N (400 N, 600 N) during run up 600 s, after the run up the appropriate level of load was held.The forth test had a rectangular shape of loading with direct current component 400 N and the amplitude 200 N period 600 s, the whole test took 1800 s. The obtained results reveal that friction coefficient decreases with the increase of normal load. Further, that the coefficient of friction was found smaller at constant load, as compared to rectangular shape of loading.


1998 ◽  
Vol 517 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.W. Scharf ◽  
R.D. Ott ◽  
D. Yang ◽  
J.A. Barnard

AbstractIn this investigation, the wear durability of existing and candidate protective overcoats and substrates was examined. Specifically, 5 nm thick diamond-like carbon (DLC) and nitrogenated diamond-like carbon (N-DLC) overcoats were deposited by sputtering onto glass, glass-ceramic, and NiP/AlMg substrates. The magnetic medium was a 15 nm thick layer of CoCrPt deposited on a 50 nm thick underlayer of CrV. The wear resistance of the hard disks was determined by a recently developed depth sensing reciprocating scratch test using the Nano Indenter© II. During the scratch tests, a constant normal load of 30 jtN was maintained at an indenter velocity of 2μm/sec. It was found the N-DLC/CoCrPt/CrV/glass disk exhibited the most wear resistance and least amount of plastic deformation after the last wear event. Conversely, the NDLC/CoCrPt/CrV/NiP/AiMg disk displayed the least wear resistance even though the magnitude of the elastic recovery was the greatest. This amount of recovery was influenced by the high elastic modulus of the NiP/AIMg substrate. Consequently, the scratch test failed to isolate the intrinsic properties of the overcoat, however it provided a very powerful means of quantitatively assessing the overall response of the whole magnetic disk. This is more relevant since it simulates the response the disks see in performance. In addition, a discrete amount of nitrogen up to 14 atomic % incorporated into the amorphous network resulted in an increase in overcoat durability compared to the DLC overcoat. This was attributed to an increase in the XPS determined number of N-sp3 C bonded sites in a predominantly N-sp2 C bonded matrix. However, with increasing nitrogen concentrations ≥18%, the film structure was weakened due to the micro-Raman spectroscopy determined formation of terminated sites in the amorphous carbon network since nitrogen failed to connect the sp2 domains within the network.


1994 ◽  
Vol 356 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Bogy ◽  
Zhaoguo Jiang

AbstractThin film magnetic disks require protective overcoats, usually some form of carbon, to guard against corrosion and wear from interaction with the read/write transducer. In current products these films are less than 25 nm in thickness. This paper summarizes developments using scanning probe microscopes with sharp diamond tips (15 – 100 nm radius) to obtain indentation hardness tests with 5 nm deep indentations. We discuss an accelerated wear test that can measure wear at depths on the order of 1 nm. Finally material characterizations related to friction over sub-micron scans are discussed.A novel observation has been made when studying the dependence of friction coefficient on normal load: below a critical load, which is material and tip dependent, no observable wear occurs, and the coefficient of friction is about 0.05. Above the critical load the coefficient is load dependent and increases to a value more usually associated with the materials being tested. A study of fatigue wear was made in the “no-wear” regime with three different results. For some materials, fatigue wear occurred with multiple passes, when none was apparent for a single pass. Other materials showed no fatigue wear, and one material, silicon, showed a build-up or “negative-wear” under multiple passes. Interpretations and implications of these results are discussed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-J. Lu ◽  
Zhaoguo Jiang ◽  
D. B. Bogy ◽  
T. Miyamoto

In a Lateral Force Microscope (LFM), appropriate spring constants of the tip assembly are essential for obtaining proper normal loads for wear or scratch tests and good lateral force signals. We developed a new tip assembly design for which the lateral and normal springs can be changed independently. It was installed on a LFM where two optical heads are used to detect the lateral and normal deflections of the tip assembly for simultaneous measurements of the surface topography and friction force. Reliable calibration procedures for the LFM are presented. The LFM was used to measure the lateral forces in wear tests under various normal forces for thin film magnetic disks with and without a carbon overcoat. The friction coefficient is constant in the load range where there is no wear and increases with normal load after the tip starts to damage the surface. The carbon-coated disk has a lower friction coefficient and can support larger normal loads without wear.


2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Grosch

Abstract Rubber friction differs from that of hard solid materials in that it is not linearly related to the normal load and it depends strongly on sliding speed and temperature. There exists an interrelation between these two variables on their effect on the friction coefficient, first observed for the viscosity of liquids and generally described by the universal WLF transformation equation. The friction coefficient at a constant load is then described by a so-called master curve. Such master curves have been obtained on different types of surface and for gum rubbers as well as filled rubbers on wet and dry surfaces and it is shown that they may also be obtained on ice. The shape of the curve and position on the log(aTv) axis depends on the polymer and the track surface structure indicating that two distinct processes determine the friction: adhesion friction akin to a molecular relaxation process and a deformation process in which energy is lost due to the cyclic deformation of the rubber by the surface asperity. To obtain such a master curve it is necessary to keep the experimental speeds so low that the temperature rise in the contact area can be neglected. In practical tire tests, sliding speeds are high and hence the temperature rises with speed. Since the WLF equation is a negative function of temperature, the range of log(aTv) is limited. If thermocouples are used as sliders on rubber, it is shown that the experimental curves as function of speed can be transformed into a part of a master curve. For compound development friction tests, a limited range of track temperatures and speeds are sufficient to ensure a high correlation with road test data. A single point laboratory measurement may correlate with road tests if carefully chosen. More usually, it leads to misleading conclusions. Side force measurements at a reasonably large slip angle also reflect the friction coefficient and are a useful laboratory tool to evaluate the traction properties of tread compounds.


2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Mao Ueda ◽  
Sophie Campen ◽  
Hugh Spikes

AbstractThe frictional properties of ZDDP tribofilms at low entrainment speeds in boundary lubrication conditions have been studied in both rolling/sliding and pure sliding contacts. It has been found that the boundary friction coefficients of these tribofilms depend on the alkyl structure of the ZDDPs. For primary ZDDPs, those with linear alkyl chains give lower friction those with branched alkyl chain ZDDPs, and a cyclohexylmethyl-based ZDDP gives markedly higher friction than non-cyclic ones. Depending on alkyl structure, boundary friction coefficient in rolling-sliding conditions can range from 0.09 to 0.14. These differences persist over long duration tests lasting up to 120 h. For secondary ZDDPs, boundary friction appears to depend less strongly on alkyl structure and in rolling-sliding conditions stabilises at ca 0.115 for the three ZDDPs studied. Experiments in which the ZDDP-containing lubricant is changed after tribofilm formation by a different ZDDP solution or a base oil indicate that the characteristic friction of the initial ZDDP tribofilm is lost almost as soon as rubbing commences in the new lubricant. The boundary friction rapidly stabilises at the characteristic boundary friction of the replacement ZDDP, or in the case of base oil, a value of ca 0.115 which is believed to represent the shear strength of the bare polyphosphate surface. The single exception is when a solution containing a cyclohexylethyl-based ZDDP is replaced by base oil, where the boundary friction coefficient remains at the high value characteristic of this ZDDP despite the fact that rubbing in base oil removes about 20 nm of the tribofilm. XPS analysis of the residual tribofilm reveals that this originates from presence of a considerable proportion of C-O bonds at the exposed tribofilm surface, indicating that not all of the alkoxy groups are lost from the polyphosphate during tribofilm formation. Very slow speed rubbing tests at low temperature show that the ZDDP solutions give boundary friction values that vary with alkyl group structure in a similar fashion to rolling-sliding MTM tests. These variations in friction occur immediately on rubbing, before any measurable tribofilm can develop. This study suggest that ZDDPs control boundary friction by adsorbing on rubbing steel or tribofilm surfaces in a fashion similar to organic friction modifiers. However it is believed that, for primary ZDDPs, residual alkoxy groups still chemically bonded to the phosphorus atoms of newly-formed polyphosphate/phosphate tribofilm may also contribute to boundary friction. This understanding will contribute to the design of low friction, fuel efficient crankcase engine oils. Graphical Abstract


2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. W. Khun ◽  
H. Zhang ◽  
C. Y. Yue ◽  
J. L. Yang

Self-lubricating and wear resistant epoxy composites were developed via incorporation of wax-containing microcapsules. The effects of microcapsule size and content and working parameters on the tribological properties of epoxy composites were systematically investigated. The incorporation of microcapsules dramatically decreased the friction and wear of the composites from those of the epoxy. The increased microcapsule content or the incorporation of larger microcapsules decreased the friction and wear of the epoxy composites due to the larger amount of released wax lubricant via the rupture of microcapsules during the wear test. The friction of the composites decreased with increased normal load as a result of the promoted wear of the composites and the increased release of the wax lubricant.


1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nakanishi ◽  
H. Okuya ◽  
K. Nakajima

The strength of deposited film and the adhesion between the film and the substrate were investigated with deposited aluminum oxide film on iron surface by scratching the surface with a diamond cone. Two types of samples were examined, one with oxide film deposited after cleaning the substrate surface by sputter etching, the other with the film deposited without any sputter etching. It was found that a law similar to Meyers’ for indentation hardness holds between the load and scratch width on the sample examined. These results suggest that by analyzing the scratch data the adhesion strength of the film to the substrate can be estimated together with the hardness of the film itself. Analyses by EPMA (electron probe X-ray microanalyzer) and AES (Auger electron spectroscopy) were conducted to correlate the results obtained by the scratch tests and friction experiments, and it was confirmed that (i) adhesion is improved by sputter etching prior to the deposition of the film; (ii) adhesion decreases considerably due to the progress of oxidation in the vicinity of the interface, which depends markedly on the oxygen concentration in the oxide film; and (iii) there is an optimum thickness of the three-component layer (Fe, Al, and O) formed by atomic mixing at the interface for maximizing the adhesion.


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