Combinatorial Study of Gradient Ag-Al Thin Films: Microstructure, Phase Formation, Mechanical and Electrical Properties

A combinatorial approach is applied to rapidly deposit and screen Ag-Al thin films-to evaluate the mechanical, tribological, and electrical properties as a function of chemical composition. Ag-Al thin films with large continuous composition gradients (6-60 atom % Al) were deposited by a custom-designed combinatorial magnetron sputtering system. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nanoindentation, and four-point electrical resistance screening were employed to characterize the chemical composition, structure, and physical properties of the films in a time-efficient way. For low Al contents (<13 atom %), a highly (111)-textured fcc phase was formed. At higher Al contents, a (002)-textured hcp solid solution phase was formed followed by a fcc phase in the most At-rich regions. No indication of a mu phase was observed. The Ag-Al films with fcc-Ag matrix is prone to adhesive material transfer leading to a high friction coefficient (>1) and adhesive wear, similar to the behavior of pure Ag. In contrast, the hexagonal solid solution phase (from ca. 15 atom %Al) exhibited dramatically reduced friction coefficients (about 15% of that of the fcc phase) and dramatically reduced adhesive wear when tested against the pure Ag counter surface. The increase in contact resistance of the Ag Al films is limited to only 50% higher than a pure Ag reference sample at the low friction and low wear region (19-27 atom %). This suggests that a hcp Ag Al alloy can have a potential use in sliding electrical contact applications and in the future will replace pure Ag in specific electromechanical applications.