Crystallization of amorphous Si3N4 and superhardness effect in HfC/Si3N4 nanomultilayers |
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Authors: | Guanqun LiYuge Li Geyang Li |
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Institution: | State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China |
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Abstract: | HfC/Si3N4 nanomultilayers with various thicknesses of Si3N4 layer have been prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the multilayers have been investigated. The results show that amorphous Si3N4 is forced to crystallize and grow coherently with HfC when the Si3N4 layer thickness is less than 0.95 nm, correspondingly the multilayers exhibit strong columnar structure and achieve a significantly enhanced hardness with the maximum of 38.2 GPa. Further increasing Si3N4 layer thickness leads to the formation of amorphous Si3N4, which blocks the coherent growth of multilayer, and thus the hardness of multilayer decreases quickly. |
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Keywords: | HfC/Si3N4 nanomultilayer Superhardness effect Coherent growth Crystallization of amorphous |
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