Basic investigations for the synthesis of novel nanocomposite coatings using external nanoparticle injection

纳米复合材料及其性能特征一直是薄膜技术领域许多研究和当前研究项目的焦点。涂层形貌/结构和相组成的合成受到层生长过程中热力学平衡条件的限制以及由此产生的两个不混相沉积的限制。这就限制了可用涂层材料的使用，从而阻碍了纳米复合材料优异的摩擦力学性能的发挥。因此，计划项目的方法旨在通过局部分离合成两相来消除这些限制，从而首次实现纳米复合材料的几乎不依赖于材料的沉积。这将通过将纳米粒子注入装置与气动透镜系统结合使用PVD溅射装置来实现。采用常规磁控溅射法制备了CrN基体，同时注入尺寸为20 nm的Ti / TiN纳米颗粒。利用模组透镜阵列首次解决了不同工作压力和二维沉积问题所带来的挑战。研究的目的是通过改变10、20和30个at的纳米颗粒含量来产生对可混相纳米复合材料的基本理解。并详细研究相组成、晶粒尺寸以及由此产生的摩擦力学性能。特别是，层结构的形成机制和纳米颗粒与基体材料之间的相边界可能发生的机制将导致对这类未开发材料的理解。

Nanocomposites as well as their property profile have been the focus of many investigations and current research projects in the field of thin-film technology. The synthesis of the coating morphology/ structure and phase composition is subject to the limitations of thermodynamic equilibrium conditions during the growth of the layer and the resulting restrictions for the deposition of two immiscible phases. This results in a limitation of usable coating materials and thus often impedes the use of the outstanding tribo-mechanical properties of nanocomposites.Therefore, the approach of the planned project targets at eliminating these limitations by means of a locally separated synthesis of the two phases, hence for the first time enabling an almost material-independent deposition of nanocomposites. This will be realized by using the combination of a device for nanoparticle injection with an aerodynamic lens system in combination with a PVD sputtering device. The matrix consisting of CrN is synthesized by means of conventional magnetron sputtering technology and the nanoparticles with a size of 20 nm Ti / TiN are injected simultaneously. The challenges resulting from the different working pressures applied combined with the problems of a two-dimensional deposition are solved for the first time by utilizing a modular lens array. The aim of the investigations is to generate a basic understanding of the class of miscible nanocomposites by changing the content of nanoparticles by 10, 20, and 30 at.% and to investigate the phase composition, grain sizes, as well as the resulting tribo-mechanical properties in detail. In particular, the mechanisms for the formation of the layer structure and mechanisms that might occur at the phase boundaries between the nanoparticles and matrix material will lead to an understanding of this unexplored class of materials.