Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.4
5.3
Journals
Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Thin-Film Processing and Deposition Techniques
share announcement

Thin-Film Processing and Deposition Techniques

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanocomposite Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2024 | Viewed by 3994

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Deen Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Advanced Thin Films and Devices, School of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, 2 Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, China
Interests: hard and superhard nanocomposite thin films; diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings; functional decorative films; equipment for low-temperature high-speed deposition of thick; dense PVD coatings and their applications; surface and interface treatments for energy materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thin-film coating technology is an advanced surface treatment technology. A thin-film layer of certain hardness is formed on the surface of the workpiece by physical or chemical methods, in order to improve the mechanical, electrical, and/or chemical properties of the surface. In recent years, thin-film processing and deposition technology has made great progress. In order to demonstrate the latest progress and development trends in this field, this Special Issue is proposed to provide a comprehensive description of thin surface coatings, as well as their performance and effective preparation.

We invite authors to contribute original research articles and review articles covering the current progress on thin-film processing and deposition techniques. The topics covered include details of deposition techniques and the properties of hard and/or soft, thin coatings. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Nanostructured, nanocomposite, multilayer, and gradient thin films and coatings;
  2. Hard and superhard nitride/carbide thin films and coatings, high-entropy alloy (HEA)-related thin films and coatings, HEA nitride/carbide thin-film coatings, and diamond-like carbon coatings;
  3. Physical vapor deposition techniques, including high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA), and pulsed laser deposition (PLD);
  4. Surface and interface treatments for energy materials.

Prof. Dr. Deen Sun
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hard and superhard
  • toughness
  • tribological properties
  • wear resistance
  • corrosion resistance
  • conductivity
  • thin films and coatings
  • diamond-like carbon (DLC)
  • high-entropy alloy (HEA)
  • high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS)

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

9 pages, 4127 KiB  
Communication
A Co-Sputtering Process Optimization for the Preparation of FeGaB Alloy Magnetostrictive Thin Films
by Qijing Lin, Zelin Wang, Qingzhi Meng, Qi Mao, Dan Xian and Bian Tian
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(22), 2948; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13222948 - 15 Nov 2023
Viewed by 892
Abstract
A co-sputtering process for the deposition of Fe0.8Ga0.2B alloy magnetostrictive thin films is studied in this paper. The soft magnetic performance of Fe0.8Ga0.2B thin films is modulated by the direct-current (DC) sputtering power of an [...] Read more.
A co-sputtering process for the deposition of Fe0.8Ga0.2B alloy magnetostrictive thin films is studied in this paper. The soft magnetic performance of Fe0.8Ga0.2B thin films is modulated by the direct-current (DC) sputtering power of an FeGa target and the radio-frequency (RF) sputtering power of a B target. Characterization results show that the prepared Fe0.8Ga0.2B films are amorphous with uniform thickness and low coercivity. With increasing FeGa DC sputtering power, coercivity raises, resulting from the enhancement of magnetism and grain growth. On the other hand, when the RF sputtering power of the B target increases, the coercivity decreases first and then increases because of the conversion of the films from a crystalline to an amorphous state. The lowest coercivity of 7.51 Oe is finally obtained with the sputtering power of 20 W for the FeGa target and 60 W for the B target. Potentially, this optimization provides a simple way for improving the magnetoelectric coefficient of magnetoelectric composite materials and the sensitivity of magnetoelectric sensors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin-Film Processing and Deposition Techniques)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 4600 KiB  
Article
Liquid Shear Exfoliation of MoS2: Preparation, Characterization, and NO2-Sensing Properties
by Pingping Ni, Mbaye Dieng, Jean-Charles Vanel, Ileana Florea, Fatima Zahra Bouanis and Abderrahim Yassar
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(18), 2502; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13182502 - 05 Sep 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1294
Abstract
2D materials possess great potential to serve as gas-sensing materials due to their large, specific surface areas and strong surface activities. Among this family, transition metal chalcogenide materials exhibit different properties and are promising candidates for a wide range of applications, including sensors, [...] Read more.
2D materials possess great potential to serve as gas-sensing materials due to their large, specific surface areas and strong surface activities. Among this family, transition metal chalcogenide materials exhibit different properties and are promising candidates for a wide range of applications, including sensors, photodetectors, energy conversion, and energy storage. Herein, a high-shear mixing method has been used to produce multilayered MoS2 nanosheet dispersions. MoS2 thin films were manufactured by vacuum-assisted filtration. The structural morphology of MoS2 was studied using ς-potential, UV–visible, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy (RS). The spectroscopic and microscopic analyses confirm the formation of a high-crystalline MoS2 thin film with good inter-sheet connectivity and relative thickness uniformity. The thickness of the MoS2 layer is measured to be approximately 250 nm, with a nanosheet size of 120 nm ± 40 nm and a number of layers between 6 and 9 layers. Moreover, the electrical characteristics clearly showed that the MoS2 thin film exhibits good conductivity and a linear I–V curve response, indicating good ohmic contact between the MoS2 film and the electrodes. As an example of applicability, we fabricated chemiresistive sensor devices with a MoS2 film as a sensing layer. The performance of the MoS2-chemiresistive sensor for NO2 was assessed by being exposed to different concentrations of NO2 (1 ppm to 10 ppm). This sensor shows a sensibility to low concentrations of 1 ppm, with a response time of 114 s and a recovery time of 420 s. The effect of thin-film thickness and operating temperatures on sensor response was studied. The results show that thinner film exhibits a higher response to NO2; the response decreases as the working temperature increases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin-Film Processing and Deposition Techniques)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 2887 KiB  
Article
Structure and Frictional Properties of Ultrahard AlMgB14 Thin Coatings
by Dmitrii Tkachev, Ilya Zhukov, Pavel Nikitin, Victor Sachkov and Alexander Vorozhtsov
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(10), 1589; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13101589 - 09 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1062
Abstract
This paper presents the results of studies on AlMgB14-based ceramic coatings deposited on WC-Co hard alloy substrates using RF plasma sputtering. The aim of this work is to study the structure, phase composition, and mechanical properties of AlMgB14-based coatings [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of studies on AlMgB14-based ceramic coatings deposited on WC-Co hard alloy substrates using RF plasma sputtering. The aim of this work is to study the structure, phase composition, and mechanical properties of AlMgB14-based coatings depending on the sputtering mode. According to the results of the microstructural study, the bias voltage applied to the substrate during the sputtering process significantly contributed to the formation of the coating morphology. Based on the results of compositional and structural studies by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, it was found that the coatings are composed of nanocrystalline B12 icosahedrons distributed in an amorphous matrix consisting of Al, Mg, B, and O elements. The nanohardness of the coatings varied from 24 GPa to 37 GPa. The maximum value of the hardness together with the lowest coefficient of friction (COF) equal to 0.12 and wear resistance of 7.5 × 10−5 mm3/N·m were obtained for the coating sputtered at a bias voltage of 100 V. Compared with the COF of the original hard alloy substrate, which is equal to 0.31, it can be concluded that the AlMgB14-based coatings could reduce the COF of WC-based hard alloys by more than two times. The hardness and tribological properties of the coatings obtained in this study are in good agreement with the properties of AlMgB14-based materials obtained by other methods reported in the literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin-Film Processing and Deposition Techniques)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop