Objective
The principal aim of the project is to study a novel aluminium c oating in order to use it in electrical or electronic devices, especially in substitution of precious metals. This coating made of a supersaturated solid solution of Al and N is elaborated using PVD technique. The programme involves producing coatings and performing characterization of their composition in parallel with detailed studies of their properties (morphology, microhardness, electrical properties, corrosion behaviour). Superficial composition is a particularly important parameter for electrical contact applications. The use of this coating as a potential solution for leadframes and connectors has to be investigated.
Experiments showed that coatings with enhanced micro-hardness are produced when interstitial nitrogen is allowed to stress the crystal lattice. There is a considerable increase in the hardness of the coatings as a result of stressing of the crystal lattice by the interstitial nitrogen. Despite the metastable nature of the coatings, the composition and the hardness are barely affected by being held at temperatures of around 300 C for prolonged periods.
Nitrogen doping procedures a considerable reduction of the electrical contact resistance, approaching thevalues obtained using copper or gold. This phenomenon is probably linked to the complex nature of the passivated coating substrates of alumina and a coating of aluminium nitride containing up to 20% nitrogen.
An increase in the electrochemical redox potential of doped aluminium coatings (reaching 200 mV) was observed compared with pure aluminium coatings. This reduces the sensitivity to the effects of conductive coupling.
Nitrogen doped aluminium coatings could constitute an attractive replacement material for the precious metals traditionally used for a certain number of electrical applications whenever a particular property (hardness, electrical contact resistance, etc) is sought. Moreover, such coatings can be easily welded, making the production of an all aluminium component or circuit possible.
The work involved preparation of coatings and characterization of their composition, in parallel with detailed studies of their properties (morphology, microhardness, electrical properties, corrosion behaviour). The influence of the nitrogen content and contact resistance were studied. The contact resistance of aluminium coatings was successfully reduced by 80% with suitable nitrogen additions and microhardness increased by a factor of 3. Important results were obtained by surface analysis using GDOS, SIMS, XPS and Auger spectroscopies. The methods revealed that the outermost aluminium in the coating is oxidized and that nitrogen is present as a nitride. The nitrogen doping reduces the effective tunnelling thickness of the aluminium surface oxide. The use of these coatings as candidates for lead frames, electromagnetic shielding and connectors was investigated.
Supersaturated solid solutions of aluminium and nitrogen have been obtained using reactive magnetron sputtering. This work involved the preparation of the coatings and the characterization of the composition in parallel with detailed studies of their properties (morphology, microhardness, electrical properties, corrosion behaviour). Influence of nitrogen content has been studied. Contact resistance of aluminium coatings has been reduced by 80% with suitable nitrogen addition while microhardness has been increased by 3 times.
Particularly important work has been performed on the superficial analysis using glow discharge optical spectroscopy (GDOS), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). These analyses have revealed that the outermost aluminium in the coating is oxidized and that nitrogen is present as nitride. The nitrogen doping reduced the effective tunnelling thickness of the aluminium superficial oxide.
The use of this coating as a candidate for leadframes, electromagnetic shielding and connectors has been investigated.
THE PROJECT IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS:
1.-DEVELOPMENT OF LAYERS BASED ON ALUMINIUM/NITROGEN SOLID SOLUTIONS AND STUDY OF THE PROPERTIES OF THESE DEPOSITS.
2.-STUDY OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF THESE DEPOSITS UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS (ELECTRICAL, THERMAL, AGEING, ASSEMBLY, ETC...)
3.-STUDY OF THE BEHAVIOUR UNDER OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS OF PASSIVE COMPONENTS COVERED BY AN ALUMINIUM/NITROGEN COATING
AN INNOVATIVE ELEMENT IN THE PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF PVD TECHNIQUES FOR THE DEPOSITION OF ALUMINIUM/NITROGEN COATINGS AND THEIR CHARACTERISATION BY A PHOTO-ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC THERMAL WAVE (PEAT) MICROSCOPE.
THE INSTRUMENT IS DESIGNED TO IMAGE AND ANALYSE THE SURFACE AND SUBSURFACES OF SOLID MATERIALS. THERMAL WAVE MICROSCOPY IS A TECHNIQUE THAT ENABLES THE SUBSURFACE OF MATERIALS TO BE PHYSICALLY EVALUATED NON-DESTRUCTIVELY. ION BEAM EROSION IS USED TO PROVIDE DEPTH PROFILES OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION FROM THE SURFACE THROUGH THE INTERFACE AND INTO THE SUBSTRATE.
ECONOMICALLY, THE FABRICATION OF ALUMINIUM/NITROGEN COATINGS HAVE CLEAR POTENTIAL FOR SUBSTITUTING MORE EXPENSIVE METALS IN ELECTRONIC APPLICATION, SUCH AS PASSIVE COMPONENTS, AND INCREASING THE RELIABILITY OF SUCH COMPONENTS.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences atomic physics
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry post-transition metals
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Coordinator
42166 Andrézieux-Bouthéon
France
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