Microstructural, Electrical, and Tribomechanical Properties of Mo-W-C Nanocomposite Films
Kateryna Smyrnova,
Volodymyr I. Ivashchenko,
Martin Sahul,
Ľubomír Čaplovič,
Petro Skrynskyi,
Andrii Kozak,
Piotr Konarski,
Tomasz N. Koltunowicz,
Piotr Galaszkiewicz,
Vitalii Bondariev,
Pawel Zukowski,
Piotr Budzynski,
Svitlana Borba-Pogrebnjak,
Mariusz Kamiński,
Lucia Bónová,
Vyacheslav Beresnev,
Alexander Pogrebnjak
Affiliations
Kateryna Smyrnova
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 25, J. Bottu St., 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia
Volodymyr I. Ivashchenko
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 25, J. Bottu St., 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia
Martin Sahul
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 25, J. Bottu St., 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia
Ľubomír Čaplovič
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 25, J. Bottu St., 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia
Petro Skrynskyi
Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 3, Krzhizhanovsky St., 03142 Kyiv, Ukraine
Andrii Kozak
Institute of Electrical Engineering, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 9, Dúbravská Cesta St., 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia
Piotr Konarski
Łukasiewicz Research Network—Tele and Radio Research Institute, 11, Ratuszowa St., 03-450 Warszawa, Poland
Tomasz N. Koltunowicz
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lublin University of Technology, 38A, Nadbystrzycka St., 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Piotr Galaszkiewicz
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lublin University of Technology, 38A, Nadbystrzycka St., 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Vitalii Bondariev
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lublin University of Technology, 38A, Nadbystrzycka St., 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Pawel Zukowski
Department of Economics, Vincent Pol University in Lublin, 2, Choiny St., 20-816 Lublin, Poland
Piotr Budzynski
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 36, Nadbystrzycka St., 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Svitlana Borba-Pogrebnjak
Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Sumy State University, 2, Rymskogo-Korsakova St., 40007 Sumy, Ukraine
Mariusz Kamiński
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 36, Nadbystrzycka St., 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Lucia Bónová
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 25, J. Bottu St., 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia
Vyacheslav Beresnev
Department of Reactor Engineering Materials and Physical Technologies, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4, Svobody Sq., 61022 Kharkiv, Ukraine
Alexander Pogrebnjak
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 25, J. Bottu St., 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia
This study investigates the phase composition, microstructure, and their influence on the properties of Mo-W-C nanocomposite films deposited by dual-source magnetron sputtering. The synthesised films consist of metal carbide nanograins embedded in an amorphous carbon matrix. It has been found that nanograins are composed of the hexagonal β-(Mo2 + W2)C phase at a low carbon source power. An increase in the power results in the change in the structure of the carbide nanoparticles from a single-phase to a mixture of the β-(Mo2 + W2)C and NaCl-type α-(Mo + W)C(0.65≤k≤1) solid-solution phases. The analysis of electrical properties demonstrates that the nanograin structure of the films favours the occurrence of hopping conductivity. The double-phase structure leads to a twofold increase in the relaxation time compared to the single-phase one. Films with both types of nanograin structures exhibit tunnelling conductance without the need for thermal activation. The average distance between the potential wells produced by the carbide nanograins in nanocomposite films is approximately 3.4 ± 0.2 nm. A study of tribomechanical properties showed that Mo-W-C films composed of a mixture of the β-(Mo2 + W2)C and α-(Mo + W)C(0.65≤k≤1) phases have the highest hardness (19–22 GPa) and the lowest friction coefficient (0.15–0.24) and wear volume (0.00302–0.00381 mm2). Such a combination of electrical and tribomechanical properties demonstrates the suitability of Mo-W-C nanocomposite films for various micromechanical devices and power electronics.
