Acquisition of a Versataile Microwave Plasma CVD System

收购具有ECR(电子回旋共振)源、原位加热级和直流偏压的微波等离子体化学气相沉积(CVD)系统将创建一个多功能的CVD设备，能够在广泛的压力和温度范围内沉积。包括12通道质量流量控制器、真空泵、疏水阀和压力指示器/控制器在内的其他部件将完成CVD系统。此外，由于Co-PI沉积了不同的材料，额外的两个反应器室将避免交叉污染，从而在不停机的情况下提供了清洗的灵活性。由于ECR源和现场加热级，微波等离子体CVD系统还将能够在一定温度范围内(包括中到低温)加强难处理和独特的非平衡材料/相的化学气相沉积，如立方氮化硼(C)-BN。该系统将初步具备沉积几个PI和Co-PIs研究项目所需的各种高科技材料/涂层的能力。这种CVD系统将被用来合成先进的薄膜/涂层和独特的材料，特别包括：(A)碳化物、氮化物或氧化物涂层，以在广泛的纤维上创建工程纤维-基质界面，用于研究它们在一些纤维增强陶瓷复合材料的研究、项目中对裂纹桥接、断裂和基质开裂行为的微观机制的作用；(B)高温合金和航空航天用复合材料上的热障涂层；(C)用于电子、传感器和防腐应用的陶瓷薄膜；以及(D)用于刀具刀片的超硬c-BN涂层，因为这种材料在切割铁基合金方面的性能优于金刚石涂层，而且几家美国公司，如Kennamtal、MegaDiamond、GE和Milacron已对c-BN和热障涂层表现出兴趣。虽然所有这些材料都很有趣，但只有少数重要的材料将被初步合成，如抗氧化纤维涂层、c-BN、热/氧化阻挡层(ZrO_2/Al_2O_3)和PZT。一个由材料科学与工程系的几名教员和一名访问学者组成的跨学科团队将使用拟议的微波等离子体CVD系统来处理当前和未来研究项目的涂层。该团队在CVD材料加工及其性能表征方面拥有40多年的累积经验。该系统的投入使用将增强他们合成独特无机涂层的能力，这些涂层应用于纤维增强复合材料、刀具、防腐、电子和环境相关领域。一些行业对研究工作表现出了浓厚的兴趣，因为有了这一设施，研究工作将成为可能。

Acquisition of a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system with capability for ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) source, in situ heater stage, and DC bias will create a versatile CVD facility with capability for deposition over a wide range of pressures and temperatures. Additional components including 12 channel mass flow controllers, vacuum pump, traps, and pressure indicators/controllers will complete the CVD system. Furthermore, the 2 additional reactor chambers will avoid cross contamination because of the deposition of different materials by Co-PIs providing flexibility in cleaning without the reactor downtime. The microwave plasma CVD system will also be capable of enhancing chemical vapor deposition of hard-to-process and unique nonequilibrium materials/phases such as cubic boron nitride (c)-BN over a range of temperatures (including moderate to low temperatures) because of the ECR source and in situ heater stage. The system will have an initial capability for deposition of a broad range of high-tech materials/coatings required for several research projects of PI and Co-PIs. This CVD system will be used to synthesize advanced thin films/coatings and unique materials including in particular: (a) Carbide, nitride, or oxide coatings on a broad range of fibers to create engineered fiber-matrix interfaces for studying their roles on the micromechanics of crack bridging, fracture, and matrix cracking behaviors in a number of research, projects on fiber-reinforced ceramic composites; (b) Thermal/oxidation barrier coatings on superalloys and composites for aircraft/aerospace applications; (c) Ceramic thin films for electronics, sensor, and corrosion protection applications; and (d) Super-hard c-BN coating for cutting tool inserts because this material performance better than diamond coating for cutting iron-based alloys and several US companies like Kennametal, MegaDiamond, GE, and Milacron have showed interest in c-BN and thermal barrier coatings. While all of these are interesting materials, only a few important ones, such as oxidation resistant fiber coatings, c-BN, thermal/oxidation barrier (ZrO2/Al2O3) , and PZT will be synthesized initially. An interdisciplinary team consisting of several faculty from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and a Visiting Scholar will be using the proposed microwave plasma CVD system to process coatings for the current and future research projects. Together this team has over 40 years of cumulative experience with the processing of materials by CVD and characterization of their properties. The availability of the system will enhance their capabilities for synthesizing unique inorganic coatings for applications in fiber-reinforced composites, cutting tools, corrosion protection, electronics, and environmental-related areas. A strong interest is shown by a number of industries on research work that will become possible because of the availability of this facility.