Structural, chemical, optical and mechanical properties of Au doped Al-N sputtered coatings

• Autor(a) principal: Figueiredo, N. M.
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Vaz, F., Cunha, L., Rodil, S. E., Cavaleiro, A.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/27933; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2014.03.028
• topic: AlN-Au; Au clusters; SPR; Decorative

This paper is focused on the structure, chemical composition, optical and mechanical properties of coatings consisting in an Alsingle bondN matrix incorporating different Au contents (up to 2.5 at.%). The Au was incorporated in the matrix atomically or in the form of very small nanoparticles (< 1 nm). With the increase in the Au content both the refractive index and the coefficient of extinction were increased. The AlN matrix presented a crystalline wurtzite phase, stable up to 1000 °C. With annealing at 400 °C the precipitation of XRD detectable Au nanoparticles was possible, originating SPR light absorption. The Alsingle bondN + Au coatings exhibited hardness values between 15 and 24 GPa, with no significant changes after the annealing treatments at low temperatures. These coatings are of interest to the decorative applications.