Nanostructured surfaces

Structural and mecanical properties of B4C coatings obtained by RF-sputtering with external magnetic field 
Romaniuk S.P.1, Skoblo T.S.1, Sidashenko A.I.1, Taran A.V.2
1 Kharkiv Petro Vasylenko National Technical University of Agriculture
44, Alchevskikh St., Kharkiv, 61002, Ukraine. 
E-mail: romaniuk.khntusg@gmail.com 
2 National Science Center “Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology” (NSC KIPT), Institute of Plasma Physics
1, Akademicheskaya St., Kharkov, 61108, Ukraine.

Boron carbide is the third hardest material, surpassed only by diamond and cubic boron nitride. It has a high melting point, high modulus, and a low density [1,2]. 
In this paper, the method of synthesizing B4C coatings using an RF plasma source with an external magnetic field is considered, which is based on the sputtering of the cathode material by high-energy argon ions when creating plasma in a weak magnetic field. The presence of an external magnetic field in such a device provided a drift and oscillating motion of the electrons and allowed the creation of plasma in the range of pressures 10 ÷ 10-2 Pa. 
The structure and chemical composition of the obtained coatings have been investigated by SEM with EDX, XRD and XRF methods. Mechanical and tribological properties of thin B4C coatings were investigated using nanoidentation [3] and ball-on-disk methods. 

1.	Rosales M., Camargo F., Lima C.R.С. Characterization of boron carbide thermal sprayed coatings for high wear resistance performance // Proceedings of the International Thermal Spray Conference. -2009.- Р. 1175-1177.
2.	Andrievskii R.A. Micro- and nanosized boron carbide: Synthesis, structure and properties // Russian Chemical Reviews.-2012.- 81.-Р. 549 - 559.
3.	Skoblo T.S., Romaniuk S.P., Sidashenko A.I., Garkusha I.E., Taran V.S., Taran A.V., Pilgui N.N. Strengthening method for thin-walled knives with multi-layer nanocoatings and quality assessment by non-destructive method // Journal of Advanced Microscopy Research.-2018, -13, N 3.- Р. 333-338.