Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 13: Poster Session III: Layer properties: electrical, optical and mechanical properties; Thin film characterization: structure analysis and composition (XRD, TEM; XPS, SIMS, RBS..)

DS 13.7: Poster

Monday, March 11, 2013, 17:00–20:00, Poster B1

Enhanced wear resistance of a rhodium surface by interstitial alloying with boron — •Frank Müller¹, Matthias Lessel¹, Samuel Grandthyll¹, Karin Jacobs¹, Stefan Hüfner¹, Stefan Gsell², Michael Weinl², and Matthias Schreck² — ¹Saarland University, Experimental Physics, 66041 Saarbrücken, Germany — ²University of Augsburg, Institute of Physics, 86135 Augsburg, Germany

Increasing the wear resistance of a Rh(111) surface can be obtained by ~ 1% alloying with boron atoms via a CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) process using trimethylborate, B(OCH3)3, at moderate temperatures of about 800 K. The fragmentation of the precursor molecules on the metal surface results in single boron atoms that are incorporated in the fcc lattice of the substrate, as displayed by X-ray Photoelectron Diffraction (XPD). The boron atoms penetrate into the host lattice up to 100 nm with the boron distribution displaying a nearly homogeneous depth profile, as tested by depth profiling experiments using combined X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Ar ion etching. When compared to the untreated Rh(111) surface, the wear resistance of the B-"doped" Rh surface is increased to about 400%, as probed by scratching experiments using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).