Tribological Improvement of Ag Films by Ion Beam Enhanced Deposition

Abstract

This paper investigates the tribological properties of Ag film fabricated by ion enhanced deposition at atmospheric room temperature, whereby 150 keV Ar ion bombardment and Ag ion plating are performed simultaneously. In the absence of a lubricant, friction test apparatus employing ball-plate geometry is used. Also, properties such as film crystallinity, morphology and concentration profile are examined to study the high energy ion bombardment effect related to the film’s tribological properties. The activation of the mutual diffusion process which results from simultaneous ion bombardment during ion plating, as well as promotion of the crystallization in the ion bombarded film due to subsequent annealing, can greatly extend the mixing layer, and thus enhances the sliding life of the Ag film.