The effects of deposition time on the nanoscale patterns of Ag/DLC nanocomposite synthesized by RF‐PECVD

• Published in: Microscopy research and technique Vol. 82; no. 5; pp. 572 - 579
• Main Authors: Ţălu, Ştefan, Stach, Sebastian, Abdolghaderi, Senour
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.05.2019; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Ag/DLC nanocomposite; Algorithms; Atomic force microscopy; Chemical vapor deposition; Computer programs; Computer simulation; Correlation analysis; Diamonds; Fractal analysis; Fractal geometry; Fractals; Microscopy; Microtexture; Morphology; Nanocomposites; RF‐PECVD; Silver; Software; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; stereometric analysis; surface microtexture; Surface structure; Synthesis; Three dimensional analysis; Watersheds; surface microtexture; stereometric analysis; atomic force microscopy; RF-PECVD; Ag/DLC nanocomposite
• ISSN: 1059-910X; 1097-0029
• DOI: 10.1002/jemt.23203

Introduction: In this study, a stereometric analysis of the three dimensional (3‐D) surfaces of the Ag/DLC nanocomposite synthesized by RF‐PECVD was performed. Materials and methods: Atomic force microscopy in noncontact mode was used to study surface morphology in correlation with multi‐parametric statistical analysis. The associated parameters of segmented motifs in conformity with ISO 25178‐2:, 2012 have been extracted using MountainsMap® Premium software. The mathematical algorithm computes detached watersheds of hill or dale motifs and determines the maximum and minimum points of motifs. Results and discussion: The stereometric analyses with MountainsMap® Premium software provided detailed information on the 3‐D surface topography of samples. Fractal analyses revealed the fractal nature of the performed samples is in correlation with the deposition time of samples. Detailed information of manufactured Ag/diamond‐like carbon (DLC) nanocomposite is given based on the information about the surface structure, properties, and performance characteristics. The performed analysis allows the high‐resolution modeling of Ag/DLC nanocomposite surface microtexture with motif analysis (intrinsic characteristics disclosure and characterization of surfaces fractal), in order to be included in computer interactive simulation algorithms. Conclusion: It was found the fractal dimension decreases with the increase of the deposition times on samples. We characterized the structural complexity of the 3‐D surface of the Ag/DLC nanocomposite prepared by RF‐PECVD. The 3‐D surface analysis of the samples was performed using an atomic force microscope operating in contact mode. We determined the stereometric and fractal dimension of the analyzed samples.