Sharma Neeraj Kumar, Rana Anchal, Panwar O S, Rana Abhimanyu Singh
Centre for Advanced Materials and Devices, School of Engineering and Technology, BML Munjal University, Sidhrawali, Gurugram, 122413, Haryana, India.
Heliyon. 2024 Jun 19;10(12):e33239. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33239. eCollection 2024 Jun 30.
Refractory metals that can withstand at high temperatures and harsh conditions are of utmost importance for solar-thermal and energy storage applications. Thin films of TiN have been deposited using cathodic vacuum arc deposition at relatively low temperatures ∼300 °C using the substrate bias ∼ -60 V. The nanomechanical properties of these films were investigated using nanoindentation and the spatial fluctuations were observed. The nanoindentation results were simulated using finite element method through Johnson-Cook model. A parametric study was conducted, and 16 different models were simulated to predict the hardening modulus, hardening exponent, and yield stress of the deposited film. The predicted values of elastic modulus, yield stress, hardening modulus and hardening exponent as 246 GPa, 2500 MPa, 25000 MPa and 0.1 respectively are found to satisfactorily explain the experimental load-indentation curves. We have found the local nitridation plays an important role on nanomechanical properties of TiN thin films and confirms that the nitrogen deficient regions are ductile with low yield stress and hardening modulus. This study further opens the opportunities of modelling the nanoscale system using FEM analysis.
能够承受高温和恶劣条件的难熔金属对于太阳能热和储能应用至关重要。利用阴极真空电弧沉积在相对较低温度（约300°C）和衬底偏压约 -60 V的条件下沉积了TiN薄膜。使用纳米压痕研究了这些薄膜的纳米力学性能，并观察到了空间波动。通过有限元方法，利用约翰逊 - 库克模型对纳米压痕结果进行了模拟。进行了参数研究，模拟了16种不同模型以预测沉积薄膜的硬化模量、硬化指数和屈服应力。发现预测的弹性模量、屈服应力、硬化模量和硬化指数分别为246 GPa、2500 MPa、25000 MPa和0.1，能够令人满意地解释实验载荷 - 压痕曲线。我们发现局部氮化对TiN薄膜的纳米力学性能起着重要作用，并证实了氮缺乏区域具有低屈服应力和硬化模量，表现出韧性。这项研究进一步为使用有限元分析对纳米尺度系统进行建模提供了机会。
