Effect of Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> substrate surface roughness on the wear resistance of diamond film prepared by HFCVD

WANG He; WEN Kaixiang; YAN Guangyu; WANG Yanxiang; JIN Yifan; SU Peichen

doi:10.13394/j.cnki.jgszz.2022.0184

Volume 43 Issue 5

Oct. 2023

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Article Navigation > Diamond & Abrasives Engineering > 2023 > 43(5): 604-611

WANG He, WEN Kaixiang, YAN Guangyu, WANG Yanxiang, JIN Yifan, SU Peichen. Effect of Si3N4 substrate surface roughness on the wear resistance of diamond film prepared by HFCVD[J]. Diamond & Abrasives Engineering, 2023, 43(5): 604-611. doi: 10.13394/j.cnki.jgszz.2022.0184

Citation:

WANG He, WEN Kaixiang, YAN Guangyu, WANG Yanxiang, JIN Yifan, SU Peichen. Effect of Si₃N₄ substrate surface roughness on the wear resistance of diamond film prepared by HFCVD[J]. Diamond & Abrasives Engineering, 2023, 43(5): 604-611. doi: 10.13394/j.cnki.jgszz.2022.0184

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Effect of Si₃N₄ substrate surface roughness on the wear resistance of diamond film prepared by HFCVD

doi: 10.13394/j.cnki.jgszz.2022.0184

WANG He^{1, 2, 3
,},
WEN Kaixiang¹,
YAN Guangyu^{1, 2, 3
,
,},
WANG Yanxiang¹,
JIN Yifan¹,
SU Peichen⁴

1.
Shenyang Jianzhu University, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang 110000, China
2.
Shenyang Jianzhu University, Joint International Research Laboratory of Modern Construction Engineering Equipment and Technology, Shenyang 110000, China
3.
Shenyang Jianzhu University, National Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of High-grade Stone CNC Processing Equipment and Technology, Shenyang 110000, China
4.
Nanyang Technological University, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Singapore 639798

More Information

Received Date: 2022-11-03
Accepted Date: 2022-12-08
Rev Recd Date: 2022-11-26

Available Online: 2023-12-07

Abstract

Abstract

[OBJECTIVES] Silicon nitride engineering ceramic materials are widely used in microelectronics and wear-resistant components due to their excellent physicochemical properties and mechanical stability under severe working conditions. However, silicon nitride ceramics suffer from brittleness, poor plastic deformation, and a tendency for brittle fracture, which limits their reliability in components for reducing wear and enhancing resistance. With the development of CVD technology, diamond-coated silicon nitride materials show great potential for wide application. Research indicates that the substrate surface roughness affects the properties of diamond films. In this study, diamond films were prepared by HFCVD with silicon nitride ceramic substrates of varying roughness to investigate the effect of substrate surface roughness on the tribological properties of diamond films.
[METHODS] The silicon nitride ceramic substrates were ground to various surface roughness levels using diamond grinding pastes of different grain sizes. After pretreatment by ultrasonic cleaning, a diamond suspension was used for crystal seeding on the surface to increase the nucleation density of diamonds. Thin film deposition was then carried out on the surface of the processed silicon nitride ceramic substrate using parameters of 1% methane concentration, 1KPa chamber pressure, and a substrate temperature of 2500±10 ℃. This process yielded micrometer-scale diamond thin films (MCD) on the surface of the silicon nitride ceramic substrate with different surface roughness. The surface morphology was characterized using a scanning electron microscope and an atomic force microscope. The quality and rate of grain growth in the diamond films on substrates of different roughness were analyzed to assess the influence of surface roughness on film growth. The physical phase composition of diamond films on substrates with varying roughness was characterized by Raman spectrometer. The bond strength between the diamond films and the silicon nitride ceramic substrates with different roughness was characterized by using an Anton Paar scratch meter microscopic combination viewer (MCT3) and an ultra-deep field microscope. The critical loads Lc1 and Lc2—corresponding to the onset of semicircular cracks within the film scratches and the appearance of adhesion failure-type debris at the scratch edges, respectively—were determined through acoustic emission, load-friction curves, and examination of the scratch surface morphology. This analysis also explored the fracture mechanisms of the films and the effect of substrate surface roughness on the film-substrate bonding strength. Tribological properties of the diamond films were investigated using a "ball-on-disk" reciprocating friction and wear tester, with silicon nitride ceramic balls as the counter-body. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), probe-type surface profiler (PSP) and super depth-of-field microscope (DFM) were used to examine the diamond films after abrasion.
[RESULTS] The results showed that: (1) diamond films exhibited the highest growth rate of 0.647 μm/h on substrates with surface roughness of 0.15 μm and 0.20 μm. The density and dimensional homogeneity of diamond grains decreased with the increase of substrate surface roughness due to the influence of the quality of crystallization, and the surface roughness of the diamond films increased with the grain sizes and the substrate roughness. The content of diamond phases in the films gradually increased and the content of trans-polyacetylene and graphite gradually decreased with the increase of substrate surface roughness, particularly notable on substrates with 0.30 μm roughness, where diamond films showed the highest diamond phase content and the least graphite phase, impurities, and grain defects. (2) Diamond films on the substrate with surface roughness of 0.20 μm could withstand the highest load, with critical loads Lc1 and Lc2 being 9.4 N and 11.9 N, respectively.(3) The friction coefficient of diamond film correlated with the roughness of the substrate, the size of the grains and the content of the impurities, with the lowest coefficient of 0.078 observed on substrates with 0.20 μm roughness. The wear rate of diamond films aligned with that of the counter-abrasive, with insufficient film-substrate bonding leading to film detachment and increased wear. High-quality grains and strong film-substrate bonding yielded low wear rates for both diamond films and counter-abrasives, with the lowest wear rate on substrates with 0.20 μm roughness being 1.75x10-7mm3/(m N).
[CONCLUSION] This study shows that the tribological properties of diamond films initially improve and then decline with increasing substrate surface roughness. Notably, micrometer-scale diamond films grown on substrates with a surface roughness of 0.10 to 0.20 μm exhibit superior growth quality and tribological performance.
- Si₃N₄,
- surface roughness,
- hot filament chemical vapour deposition （HFCVD）,
- diamond films,
- wear resistance

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References(16)

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