Regular Article

Tribological properties of hydrogenated boron carbide (B_xC:H_y) thin films on stainless steel deposited by RF-PECVD technique

¹ Laser and Plasma Surface Processing Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
² Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400084, India
³ Refueling Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
⁴ National Centre of Compositional Characterization of Materials, Hyderabad, Telengana 500062, India
⁵ Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
⁶ Fusion Reactor Material Section, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India
⁷ Glass and Advanced Materials Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India
⁸ Raja Ramanna Fellow, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, DAE, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India

^* e-mail: butearundhatii@gmail.com

Received: 5 November 2019
Received in final form: 28 February 2020
Accepted: 7 July 2020
Published online: 24 August 2020

Abstract

This study narrates the findings regarding investigation of tribological properties of B_xC:H_y thin films deposited by Radio Frequency Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (RF-PECVD) technique. To study tribological properties, two sets of films were prepared with variation in composition and thickness by tuning deposition parameters. Tribological properties were studied in ambience for three different applied vertical load values (5, 10 and 15 N). Lower self-bias (−75 V) seems advantageous for synthesis of B_xC:H_y films offering superior hardness, lubricity and wear resistance in tribologically stressed conditions. For a given composition, the film with the highest thickness (∼3 μm) exhibited better friction and wear resistance, offering lowest co-efficient of friction (COF) ∼0.23 for 5 N load and specific wear rate of 2.56 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/Nm for 10 N load. Lower self-bias during deposition (−75 V) seems advantageous for synthesis of B_xC:H_y films having high hardness (∼2800 HK) and excellent Co-efficient of friction (COF).