BIO

Santiago Lazarte is a second-year Biomedical Engineering major at Florida State University. He graduated from high school in the Republic of Panama. He has an interest in materials research, which is why he is working on wear and friction experiments. He aspires to keep working with materials in graduate school and use his knowledge on biomedical applications.

Effects of Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition Processing Parameters on the Friction and Wear of Multi-metal Nitride Films.

Abstract

Tribology is a field that studies contacting materials in relative motion and focuses on the wear and friction of these materials. This field is important because friction and wear improvements for existing materials can lead to cost and energy reduction for almost every mechanical system with sliding contacts. In this work, different (multi-metal) nitride coatings that serve as solid lubricants were grown using Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (PEALD). A solid lubricant is a material that reduces friction in mechanical systems, does not require additional lubrication, and has low wear. PEALD is a method that makes possible the formation of thin films while precisely controlling its thickness and growth conditions while using lower temperatures than those required for more traditional deposition methods. TiVN and TiMoN coatings were tested to evaluate their wear and friction using controlled environmental conditions, mechanical loading, sliding speed, and countersurface material. The purpose of this project is to determine how wear rate is affected by the composition and preparation of the nitrides. These films have the potential to be used in industry in microelectronics, MEMS/NEMS, and biomedical implants.

Keywords: Coatings, Engineering, Wear, Friction