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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Low energy sputtering of cobalt by cesium ions

An experimental facility to investigate low energy (less than 500 eV) sputtering of metal surfaces with ions produced by an ion gun is described. Results are reported on the sputtering yield of cobalt by cesium ions in the 100 to 500 eV energy range at a pressure of 1 times 10(exp -6) Torr. The target was electroplated on a copper substrate. The sputtered atoms were collected on a cobalt foil surrounding the target. Co-57 was used as a tracer to determine the sputtering yield.

Handoo, A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Sputtering Erosion in Ion and Plasma Thrusters

Low energy sputtering of molybdenum, tantalum and boron nitride with xenon ions are being studied using secondary neutral and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SNMS/SIMS). An ultrahigh vacuum chamber was used to conduct the experiment at a base pressure of 1x10(exp -9) torr. The primary ion beam is generated by an ion gun which is capable of delivering ion currents in the range of 20 to 500 nA. The ion beam can be focused to a spot size of approximately 1 mm in diameter. The mass spectrometer is positioned 10 mm from the target and 90 deg to the primary ion beam direction. SNMS and SIMS spectra were collected at various incident angles and different ion energies. For boron nitride sputtering, the target was flooded with an electron beam to neutralize the charge buildup on the surface. In the SNMS mode, sputtering of Mo and Ta can be detected at an ion energy as low as 100 eV whereas in boron nitride the same was observed up to an energy of 300 eV. However, in the positive-SIMS mode, the sputtering of Mo was observed at 10 eV incident ion energy. The SIMS spectra obtained for boron nitride clearly identifies the two isotopes of boron as well as cluster ions such as B2(sup +) and molecular ions such as BN(sup +). From the angle versus yields measurements, it was found that the maximum SNMS yield shifts towards lower incident angles at low ion energies for all three samples.

Ray, Pradosh K.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Retention of Sputtered Molybdenum on Ion Engine Discharge Chamber Surfaces

Grit-blasted anode surfaces are commonly used in ion engines to ensure adherence of sputtered coatings. Next generation ion engines will require higher power levels, longer operating times, and thus there will likely be thicker sputtered coatings on their anode surfaces than observed to date on 2.3 kW-class xenon ion engines. The thickness of coatings on the anode of a 10 kW, 40-centimeter diameter thruster, for example, may be 22 micrometers or more after extended operation. Grit-blasted wire mesh, titanium, and aluminum coupons were coated with molybdenum at accelerated rates to establish coating stability after the deposition process and after thermal cycling tests. These accelerated deposition rates are roughly three orders of magnitude more rapid than the rates at which the screen grid is sputtered in a 2.3 kW-class, 30-centimeter diameter ion engine. Using both RF and DC sputtering processes, the molybdenum coating thicknesses ranged from 8 to 130 micrometers, and deposition rates from 1.8 micrometers per hour to 5.1 micrometers per hour. In all cases, the molybdenum coatings were stable after the deposition process, and there was no evidence of spalling of the coatings after 20 cycles from about -60 to +320 C. The stable, 130 micrometer molybdenum coating on wire mesh is 26 times thicker than the thickest coating found on the anode of a 2.3 kW, xenon ion engine that was tested for 8200 hr. Additionally, this coating on wire mesh coupon is estimated to be a factor of greater than 4 thicker than one would expect to obtain on the anode of the next generation ion engine which may have xenon throughputs as high as 550 kg.

Sovey, James S.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Sputtering of Surfaces by Ion Irradiation: A Comparison of Molecular Dynamics and Binary Collision Approximation Models to Laboratory Measurements

We compare various sputtering simulation methods to experimental results in both the low energy (<1 keV) and high energy (≥1 keV) impact regimes for argon ions impacting a pure copper substrate at normal incidence. Our results indicate that for high energy impacts, both binary collision approximation (BCA) and molecular dynamics methods can be used to generate reasonable predictions for the yield and energy distribution of the sputtered atoms. We also find reasonable agreement between the theoretical and experimental results down to impact energies of 600 eV. However, at 200 eV impact energies, significant discrepancies appear between the experimental and theoretical ejecta energy distributions in the peak position, the width of the energy distribution, and the magnitude of the high energy tail. These discrepancies appear to arise from the experimental results being only for atoms sputtered normal to the substrate surface, whereas the theoretical results are integrated over all 2π solid angles above the surface. Using the BCA code SDTrimSP and limiting the results to only atoms emitted within ±15° of the surface normal brings theory and experiment into reasonable agreement. These results suggest that for low energy impacts, the energy distribution of sputtered atoms is highly dependent on the emission angle of the ejecta.

Solar wind↗
NASA NTRS2022

The Influence of surface binding energy on sputtering in models of the sodium exosphere of Mercury

We have simulated the sodium (Na) exosphere of Mercury to show how the exosphere is affected by the assumed surface binding energy (SBE) of Na in the sputtered component. We constrained ion precipitation onto the surface using distributions for the cusp regions that are consistent with measurements by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer instrument. We have simulated sputtering with SBEs of 0.27, 2.6, 4.4, and 7.9 eV, with the lowest value commonly used in exosphere models and the highest from recent molecular dynamics calculations for the Na-bearing feldspar end-member, albite. A gradual change in the exosphere is seen as the yield decreases and the ejecta energy increases with increasing SBE. We describe the corresponding exosphere source functions for ion sputtering (IS), as well as for the previously studied processes of micrometeoroid impact vaporization and photon-stimulated desorption (PSD), along with their release energy distributions and spatial distributions. We have summed the contributions of the various source processes to explain how and when the different sources can be distinguished by observations. The modeled exosphere scale heights range from 72 km for PSD to over 1000 km for IS using a SBE of 7.9 eV. We find that the processes responsible for generating Mercury's Na exosphere are separable by measuring line-of-sight column densities tangent to the planet at various altitudes and positions around the planet. Our initial results are consistent with the Na being sputtered from a high-SBE material such as feldspar, which has been predicted to be abundant on the Mercury's surface.

Rosemary M. Killen↗
DOE OSTI2015

Analysis of a tungsten sputtering experiment in DIII-D and code/data validation of high redeposition/reduced erosion

We analyze a DIII-D tokamak experiment where two tungsten spots on the removable DiMES divertor probe were exposed to 12 s of attached plasma conditions, with moderate strike point temperature and density (~20 eV, ~4.5 × 10 19 m –3 ), and 3% carbon impurity content. Both very small (1 mm diameter) and small (1 cm diameter) deposited samples were used for assessing gross and net tungsten sputtering erosion. The analysis uses a 3-D erosion/redeposition code package (REDEP/WBC), with input from a diagnostic-calibrated near-surface plasma code (OEDGE), and with focus on charge state resolved impinging carbon ion flux and energy. The tungsten surfaces are primarily sputtered by the carbon, in charge states +1 to +4. We predict high redeposition (~75%) of sputtered tungsten on the 1 cm spot—with consequent reduced net erosion—and this agrees well with post-exposure DiMES probe RBS analysis data. As a result, this study and recent related work is encouraging for erosion lifetime and non-contamination performance of tokamak reactor high-Z plasma facing components.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Fabrication and characterization of lithium manganese nickel oxide sputtered thin film cathodes for lithium-ion batteries

Li-rich and stoichiometric Li1Mn1.5Ni0.5O4 (LMNO) cathode films have been prepared by magnetron sputtering. Sputtering from a Li stoichiometric target yields Li-rich films composed of spinel, layered and monoclinic phases. Films obtained from a Li deficient target are mostly made of a spinel phase and little layered material. The resulting cathode thin films have good capacity retention and very high rate capability. The reaction mechanism has been investigated by XRD and HRTEM and evidences the reversible formation of a spinel phase, as is also found for the powder samples. The film geometry enables to understand the effect of coatings (ZnO or LiPON). Coating high voltage cathodes reduces the coulombic losses but at the price of rate performance. Nonetheless, these coated sputtered electrode thin films offer a higher rate capability than other LMNO thin films obtained by other physical vapor deposition techniques.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deposition of ultrathick heavy-metal alloys on rotating substrates by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering: Target erosion effects

Sputter deposition of ultrathick (≈20μm) Au–Ta alloy coatings on sphero-cylindrical substrates is key for the fabrication of hohlraums for magnetically assisted inertial confinement fusion. In this work, we study the deposition of AuTa 4 alloy coatings onto rotating substrates. We use high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) in a constant peak target voltage mode. Results show that the target erosion state has a strong impact on the dominant crystallographic phase, microstructure, surface morphology, and electrical resistivity of AuTa 4 films. This is due to effects of changes in the confining magnetic field with target erosion on the HiPIMS discharge characteristics and the sputter source output. We quantify these effects via plasma diagnostics and discuss the optimization of HiPIMS deposition of ultrathick films for cases when target erosion effects dominate film properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Grid-Assisted Direct-Current Magnetron Sputtering of Titanium: Plasma Discharge Diagnostics

Grid-assisted magnetron sputtering is attractive for the deposition of ultrathick Be coatings in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) applications because it offers improved control over the plasma. Here, we investigate the plasma discharge characteristics of grid-assisted direct current magnetron sputtering with Ti as a surrogate sputter target material instead of Be. We map the magnetic field of our magnetron source assembly, study the current-voltage characteristics of both the source and the substrate, and measure the energy distributions of ions bombarding the film surface during growth. The results reveal a slightly asymmetric magnetic field of the magnetron source array and strong dependencies of the plasma discharge characteristics on both the grid and the substrate voltages. Positive grid voltage increases both target and substrate currents, increases the plasma potential, and broadens the energy distributions of ions bombarding the substrate. Grid biasing effects on the plasma discharge characteristics and substrate current can be attributed to corresponding changes to the plasma potential, while substrate biasing effects are more complex and nonlinear. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that grid-assisted deposition offers additional flexibility in controlling the deposition process for tuning properties of ultrathick films for ICF applications.

ICF targets↗
DOE OSTI2017

Optimization of vertical and lateral distances between target and substrate in deposition process of CuGaSe 2 thin films using one-step sputtering

Here, copper gallium selenide (CGS) thin films were fabricated using a combinatorial one-step sputtering process without an additional selenization process. The sample libraries as a function of vertical and lateral distance from the sputtering target were synthesized on a single soda-lime glass substrate at the substrate temperature of 500 °C employing a stoichiometric CGS single target. As we increased the vertical distance between the target and substrate, the CGS thin films had more stable and uniform characteristics in structural and chemical properties. Under the optimized conditions of the vertical distance (150 mm), the CGS thin films showed densely packed grains and large grain sizes up to 1 μm in scale with decreasing lateral distances. The composition ratio of Ga/[Cu+Ga] and Se/[Cu+Ga] showed 0.50 and 0.93, respectively, in nearly the same composition as the sputtering target. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the CGS thin films had a pure chalcopyrite phase without any secondary phases such as Cu–Se or ordered vacancy compounds, respectively. In addition, we found that the optical bandgap energies of the CGS thin films are shifted from 1.650 to 1.664 eV with decreasing lateral distance, showing a near-stoichiometric region with chalcopyrite characteristics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Easy Controlled Properties of Quaternary FeNiCrCd Thin Films Deposited from a Single dc Magnetron Sputtering Under the Influence of Deposition Rate

The quaternary FeNiCrCd thin films were produced from a single FeNiCrCr source on a commercial flexible polymer substrate using one dc magnetron sputtering technique. For that, a series of the films with a thickness of 50 nm were produced at different deposition rates of 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08 nm/s, separately. In this study, as far as concerned, this was the first time that structural and magnetic properties of FeNiCrCd thin films were investigated. According to compositional analysis, the Fe and Cr contents slightly decreased with increasing deposition rate while Ni was almost constant, whereas those of the amount of Cd atoms increased. However, the atomic amounts of Fe and Cd in the films are quite different from those of the source material. The change of the atomic contents in the films from the source may be attributed to the relatively different bond energy/melting point of metals which have different contents sputtered from source material since this physical parameter is very significant for the sputtering process. For crystal structural analysis, a combination of hexagonal close-packed (hcp) and body-centered cubic (bcc) were observed. The peak intensity of the bcc-dominated planes decreased while the hcp-dominant plane increased since the change in peak intensities is compatible with the compositional analysis with increasing deposition rate. And, the grain sizes decreased gradually from 40.1 to 23.4 nm, with increasing deposition rate from 0.02, to 0.08 nm/s. Also, the film surfaces transformed from a rough to smooth surfaces with decreasing grain sizes as deposition rate increased. For magnetic analysis, the saturation magnetization M{sub s} values decreased as 1030, 773, 730, and 217 emu/cm{sup 3} with increasing deposition rate as 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08 nm/s, respectively. In the same manner, the coercivity H{sub c} values were found as 11, 7, 6, and 2 Oe with the deposition rate of 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08 nm/s, respectively. The decrease of the H{sub c} may have primarily come from the transformation of rough to smooth surface of the films. It may also be said that the films showed soft magnetic properties due to their low H{sub c} values with increasing deposition rate. Thus, the magnetic properties of the quaternary FeNiCrCd alloy films were seen to be easily improved with the deposition rate parameter for potential use in different industrial applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Validating mass spectrometry measurements of nuclear materials via a non-contact volume analysis method of ion sputter craters

A combination of secondary ion mass spectrometry, optical profilometry and a statistically-driven algorithm was used to develop a non-contact volume analysis method to validate the useful yields of nuclear materials. The volume analysis methodology was applied to ion sputter craters created in silicon and uranium substrates sputtered by 18.5 keV O- and 6.0 keV Ar+ ions. Sputter yield measurements were determined from the volume calculations and were shown to be comparable to Monte Carlo calculations and previously reported experimental observations. Additionally, the volume calculations were used to determine the useful yields of Si+, SiO+ and SiO2+ ions from the silicon substrate and U+, UO+ and UO2+ ions from the uranium substrate under 18.5 keV O- and 6.0 keV Ar+ ion bombardment. This work represents the first steps toward validating the interlaboratory and cross-platform performance of mass spectrometry for the analysis of nuclear materials.

Secondary ion mass spectrometry, Sputter yield, Us↗
DOE OSTI2018

Protective Properties of Aluminum Nitride Coatings by DC-PVD Sputtering on Cu-10Al-13Mn Shape Memory Alloy

The AlN coating was applied on the surface of a Cu-10Al-13Mn alloy using the DC-PVD sputtering method. The substrate was set at three different temperatures which were ambient, 100 and 200 °C. The effect of the substrate temperature on the quality of AlN coating was modeled by simulating stress on the coating and substrate. The preparation, microstructure, and corrosion resistance of the coating were studied. The surface morphology and element distribution of the coating were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy distribution spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. In addition, the corrosion resistance of coating was measured using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method in 1 M NaCl solution. The results showed that the AlN coating was formed on the Cu-10Al-13Mn alloy by DC-PVD sputtering method and the AlN coating considerably improved the corrosion resistance of Cu-10Al-13Mn alloy in the given corrosive media. According to EIS test, polarization resistance increased from approximately 1.6 to 115 KΩ, at 200 °C for uncoated and coated samples, respectively. Thus, corrosion resistance of AlN coating improved with the increase in the substrate temperature during the DC-PVD sputtering process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Mechanical and Frictional Performance of Ta and Ta-Ag Alloy Films Deposited at Different Sputtering Powers

The mechanical and tribological properties of tantalum and its alloy films are greatly influenced by their phase transformation. In this study, Ta and Ta-Ag films were prepared on carbon steel substrate by DC magnetron sputtering with various sputtering powers. The amorphous and nanocrystalline Ta and Ta-Ag film were produced at different sputtering powers from 40 to 110 W. The frictional properties of Ta and Ta-Ag films were investigated by rubbing against Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} ball from RT to 700 °C. The nanocrystalline Ta-Ag films shows higher hardness values (12 GPa) compared with amorphous phase. The nanocrystalline Ta90-Ag8 film shows a low friction coefficient of about 0.20-0.30 when rubbing against Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} ball at 700 °C. The segregation of Ag can effectively reduce friction coefficients of Ta-Ag film at 700 °C. The Ta-Ag films show high structure stability even after friction at 700 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Glass formation during combinatorial sputtering in binary alloys

Glass formation is a complex phenomenon influenced by thermodynamic and kinetic aspects, which are often controlled by extrinsic contributions. While bulk metallic glasses are typically multicomponent alloys, binary alloys offer a simplified approach to studying glass formation. In this study, we fabricated 57 binary alloy systems through combinatorial sputtering, where each alloy system is represented in 66 different alloys. We developed an automated analysis to determine structure and composition using X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for over 3700 alloys. We found that ∼17 % of the alloys form glasses under the estimated cooling rate during sputtering of ∼10 8 K/s. Data analysis revealed that commonly used factors like atomic size ratio and heat of mixing are ineffective in predicting glass formation. However, the crystal structure mismatch of the alloys’ elements emerged as the strongest indicator of glass formation under sputtering conditions of binary alloys. Here, the differences in glass formation under slow cooling rates used for bulk glass formation and the here observed glass formation under rapid cooling rates are discussed.

Binary alloys↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electrochemical stability, physical, and electronic properties of thermally pre-formed oxide compared to artificially sputtered oxide on Fe thin films in aqueous chloride

Here the electrochemical stability and corrosion behavior of the thermally pre-oxidized and sputter deposited variant of an oxide single-crystalline Fe thin film were compared. Thermal oxides formed Fe 2 O 3 over an inner layer of Fe 3 O 4 while the sputtered oxides were found to have grown Fe 3 O 4 instead of the target stoichiometry of Fe 2 O 3 . Oxide films of both types were stable in pH=9.3 borate buffer solution, however, were altered in pH=9.3, 0.1 M NaCl solution in the case of thermally pre-oxidized Fe thin film. The stability of the oxide differed in pH=4, 0.1 M NaCl where sputtered Fe films were more stable against acidic chemical dissolution than the thermally formed Fe oxide film. These differences were traced by AC/DC electrochemical analysis including electronic defect densities, and molecular identity characterized by ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Sputter-deposited WO x and MoO x for hole selective contacts

Here, reactive sputter deposited tungsten and molybdenum oxide (WO x , MoO x ) thin films are tested for their ability to form a hole selective contact for Si wafer based solar cells. A characterization approach based on analyzing the band bending induced in the c-Si absorber and the external and implied open-circuit voltage of test structures was used. It is shown that the oxygen partial pressure allows to tailor the selectivity to some extent and that a direct correlation between induced band bending and hole selectivity exists. Although the selectivity of the sputtered films is inferior to the reference films deposited by thermal evaporation, these results demonstrate a good starting point for further optimizations of sputtered WO x and MoO x towards higher work functions to improve the hole selectivity.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Preparation and characterization of RF magnetron sputtered CuO/CaTi{sub 4}O{sub 9} thin films with enhanced third-order nonlinear optical properties

The titanate, is a material of interest for various energy applications, including photovoltaics, catalysts, and high-rate energy storage devices. Herein, its related materials, CuO/CaTi{sub 4}O{sub 9} [CCTO] thin films, were successfully fabricated on SrTiO{sub 3} (100) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering assisted with subsequent oxygen annealing. This obtained CCTO thin films were then systemically studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scan electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). It was found that CuO and CaTi{sub 4}O{sub 9} (001) particles were closely accumulated together on the surface of the substrate in the annealing process after comparing with that of the as-prepared thin film, which was verified by SEM and AFM results. Furthermore, we investigated the third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the as-prepared and annealed CCTO thin film by means of the Z-scan technique using 650 nm femtosecond laser pulse. Post-deposition oxygen annealing was found to modify the morphological characteristics of the films, resulting in enhancing their NLO properties. The observation of NLO performance of annealed CCTO thin film indicates that RF magnetron sputtering is a feasible method for the fabrication of optical thin films, which can be expanded to fabricate other NLO materials from the corresponding dispersions. Naturally, we concluded that the CCTO thin film occupy a better NLO property, and thus enlarge its application in nonlinear optics. - Highlights: • The CCTO thin film was prepared using the RF magnetron sputtering and oxygen annealing. • The film was prepared on the SrTiO{sub 3}(100) substrates with a Ca{sub 2}CuO{sub 3} target. • The oxygen annealing was found can effectively enhance the film quality and NLO property. • The film was characterized using XPS, SEM, AFM, TEM, XRD and Z-scan techniques.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗