Investigating mechanical properties of B4C films produced by magnetron sputtering PVD

Boron carbide thin films have recently garnered significant interest across various fields owing to their exceptional physical and chemical properties, such as high wear and corrosion resistance, as well as high hardness, being the third hardest material after diamond and cubic boron nitride. Different coating methods, including physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), are used to produce these films. In this study, boron carbide thin films were deposited on single-crystal silicon substrates and high-speed steel (HSS) using magnetron sputtering at varying bias voltages (0, −100, and −200 V) in an argon atmosphere utilizing a B4C target. The process temperature, target power, and revolution speed were held constant at 150 °C, 1.3 kW, and 2 rpm, respectively. The mechanical, morphological, and microstructure properties of the deposited films were examined using FE-SEM, XRD, FTIR, Raman, XPS, Scratch test and Ferroxyl test. Nanoindentation test was conducted to evaluate the hardness values of the films. The experimental findings suggest that substrate bias significantly affects the mechanical, structural, and morphological properties of B4C coatings. [Display omitted] •B4C films were deposited on steel surfaces by using magnetron sputtering method.•Effect of bias voltages was investigated at different voltages (0, −100, and −200 V).•The minimum amount of voids reaching was observed at −100 V bias.•The maximum hardness value was determined 28.9 GPa (0 V bias).