Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.M.E.

Degree Name

MS in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)

Degree Granting Department

Mechanical Engineering

Major Professor

Ashok Kumar, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ajit Mujumdar, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Wilfrido A. Moreno, Ph.D.

Keywords

Aluminum, Chromium, Interfacial Delamination, Surface Topography, Thin Film Deposition, Titanium, PVD, Surface Roughness

Abstract

In many mechanical applications, including the manufacturing, automotive, and cutting tool sectors, metallic thin film coatings are crucial due to their tribological and protective properties. This research focuses on the development of metallic thin films of Aluminum (Al), Chromium (Cr) and Titanium (Ti) using deposition techniques like Sputtering and Electron Beam Evaporation. Metallic thin films were fabricated, with variations in thickness for each material, allowing for an in-depth study of the effects of Sputtering and Ebeam Evaporation deposition method on film characteristics. The thickness of these metallic thin films were evaluated using High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HRSEM) and Profilometer while the surface morphology was examined using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and HRSEM. Surface roughness of these metallic thin films were also measured by AFM. Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) was used to find crystallographic structures and peaks and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) provided details of the atomic arrangement of these thin films. Qualitative Delamination studies were conducted and a comparison of the interfacial delamination of these metallic thin films deposited via Sputtering and Ebeam Evaporation methods were made. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the fabrication, characterization and delamination studies of metallic thin films, providing valuable insights into their performance for various industrial applications.

The findings from Profilometer and HRSEM measurements revealed that metallic thin films developed using the Sputtering method exhibited better deposition accuracy, with an average error of ± 9.8%, in contrast to an error of ± 21.9% for Ebeam Evaporation. However, the surface topography analysis from HRSEM and AFM confirmed that Ebeam Evaporation deposition method produced smoother and more uniform thin films (particularly for Al and Ti) than Sputtering. GIXRD confirmed that both deposition methods yielded polycrystalline films with expected crystallographic structures, while TEM analysis revealed that Ebeam Evaporated thin films had a thinner interface layer (3.53 nm) compared to Sputtered thin films (5.41 nm). Delamination tests demonstrated that Ebeam Evaporated films exhibited superior strength than Sputtered films, withstanding higher loads before failure across all three metals. Overall, this study concludes that the Sputtering deposition method is preferable for applications requiring precise thickness control for thin films, while the Ebeam Evaporation deposition is better suited for applications demanding smoother and stronger thin films.

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