Scientists from the Tomsk Scientific Center of the SB RAS have proposed a methodology for the formation of surface alloys

Researchers from the Laboratory of Advanced Technologies (Tomsk Scientific Center of the SB RAS) have developed a new methodology for producing a wide range of alloys. They derived an analytical formula that can select the optimal mode of formation of such alloys using an electron beam. The scientists successfully validated their findings experimentally on the example of a zirconium-chromium alloy. The results of this work were published in the highly ranked journal Materials Chemistry and Physics .

Surface alloys are a special type of coating, which are characterized by high adhesion between the coating and the substrate and the absence of a clear boundary between them. These surface alloys are attractive for use in various fields compared to other types of coatings with a high risk of coating delamination at the boundary with the substrate due to the different physical properties of the two materials.

Tomsk Scientific Center of the SB RAS together with the Institute of High Current Electronics of the SB RAS and their partner – innovative company "Mikrosplav" have significant experience in developing equipment designed for coating of parts or products in a single vacuum cycle using an electron beam, followed by the formation of a surface alloy. Such equipment was manufactured and shipped to different regions of Russia, as well as to European and Asian countries. However, their widespread implementation in industry was limited due to the lack of clear and specified modes of surface alloy formation.

– As a rule, previously, the empirical method was used when working with surface alloys. Promising materials were selected, the coating was deposited on a substrate, and then the properties of the surface alloy were studied, – explains Alexey Markov, director of the TSC SB RAS. – In this case, it was difficult to produce materials of the desired composition, in other words, the empirical method is not effective enough.

A team of scientists, A.B. Markov, director of the TSC SB RAS, Andrey Solovyov, head of the Laboratory of Advanced Technologies (TSC SB RAS), and researchers Mikhail Slobodyan and Evgeny Yakovlev have developed a methodology for the formation of a surface alloy with the required properties. The methodology can be used to determine the optimum electron beam energy density, the thickness of the film deposited to the coating, and the number of iterations. Different efficient options can be selected using an analytical formula.

The importance of this work is that the theoretical calculations were validated by the experimental data on the example of the zirconium (substrate) – chromium (coating) surface alloy. These results are of fundamental importance and have wide practical applications. The methodology proposed by the scientists of the TSC SB RAS for working with surface alloys will increase their use in various fields of industries, in particular, it will improve the electrical properties of materials. For example, surface alloys are deposited to the electrodes of vacuum switches and are used in the production of electrical components for X-ray tubes.