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One of the challenges in the semiconductor industry is to find new barrier materials and copper (Cu) alternative solutions in interconnects. In this work, we focused to find alternative diffusion barrier materials. Different binary (CoMo, CoRu, CoTa, CoW, MoRu, RuTa, RuW) and ternary (CoMoTa, CoRuTa, MoRuTa) metal alloys were evaluated theoretically with the Miedema model to find the amorphous phase composition range. Afterward, thin films of the alloys with various compositions were deposited by magnetron sputtering and theoretical values were compared to the experimental results. From the experimental measurements, which included grazing incidence x-ray diffraction analysis and resistivity measurements, suitable binary and ternary alloys were chosen for diffusion analysis. By annealing thin film stacks at temperatures ranging from 500 to 675 ° C, diffusion was induced and detected by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiles. Seventeen alloys were evaluated by their diffusion barrier effectiveness, and five of those, which include Ru 60 Ta 40 , Ru 45 W 55 , Mo 47 Ru 53 , Mo 36 Ru 50 Ta 14 , and Co 40 Mo 35 Ta 25 , showed excellent barrier properties against copper diffusion. Furthermore, all of the stated materials have a lower resistivity than TaN. Last, the adhesion of the best performing alloys to SiCOH and Cu was evaluated by the modified edge lift-off test. Only Ru 45 W 55 had reasonable adhesion at both interfaces. The other materials showed low adhesion strength to Cu, which would make an adhesion promoter (liner), such as cobalt, necessary for the integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper alloys with chromium and hafnium offer the possibility of precipitation hardening and combine enhanced strength with high electrical and thermal conductivities. The production process, which starts with raw materials, involves powder production by gas atomization and leads to additive manufacturing by laser powder bed fusion with different parameter sets. The aim is to utilize precipitation reactions afterwards in CuHf0.7Cr0.35 during temperature exposure for further property optimization. This research focuses on the low-alloyed copper alloy with hafnium and chromium, compares this with conventionally manufactured specimens, and relates the alloy to additively manufactured specimens of other benchmark alloys such as CuCr1Zr. Measurements of hardness and electrical conductivity are accompanied by metallographic investigations to understand the behavior of CuHf0.7Cr0.35 manufactured by generative methods. In the as-built condition, melting traces remain visible in the microstructure, and hardness values of 101 HV and an electrical conductivity of 17.5 MS/m are reached. Solution annealing completely recrystallizes the microstructure, and the following quenching holds further alloying elements in supersaturated solid solution, resulting in 73 HV and 16.5 MS/m. Subsequent target-oriented precipitation reactions enable peak values of about 190 HV and 42 MS/m. Future research will assess mechanical and physical properties at elevated temperatures and evaluate possible applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, high-entropy alloys have attracted increasing scientific interest. Due to their promising combination of properties, such as high hardness and high temperature stability, they are attractive for use as tool coatings for machining applications, to give but one example. Previous studies often focused on layer deposition using magnetron sputtering. Comparatively little research has been carried out to date on coating deposition using direct current cathodic vacuum arc deposition (CAE), with higher achievable rates and almost completely ionized plasmas. The aim of this work is to investigate (HfNbTaTiZr)N-coatings produced by CAE. The nitrogen content was varied and the effects on the coating properties were investigated. Changing the N2/(N2 + Ar) ratio between 0.1 and 1.0 and varying the working pressure in the chamber from 2 Pa to 5 Pa resulted in variations of the nitrogen content of the coatings, ranging from 30 at% to 50 at%. Although different microstructures of the coatings were obtained, there was only a minor influence on the hardness and Young's modulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution addresses the complete process chain of an annular aerospike breadboard engine fabricated by laser powder bed fusion using the nickel-based superalloy Inconel® 718. In order to qualify the material and process for this high-temperature application, an extensive material characterization campaign including density and roughness measurements, as well as tensile tests at room temperature, 700, and 900 °C, was conducted. In addition, various geometric features such as triangles, ellipses, and circular shapes were generated to determine the maximum unsupported overhang angle and geometrical accuracy. The results were taken into account in the design maturation of the manifold and the cooling channels of the aerospike breadboard engine. Postprocessing included heat treatment to increase mechanical properties, milling, turning, and eroding of interfaces to fulfill the geometrical tolerances, thermal barrier coating of thermally stressed surfaces for better protection of thermal loads, and laser welding of spike and shroud for the final assembly as well as quality assurance. This contribution goes beyond small density cubes and tensile samples and offers details on the iterations necessary for the successful printing of large complex shaped functional parts. The scientific question is how to verify the additive manufacturing process through tensile testing, simulation, and design iterations for complex geometries and reduce the number of failed prints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, three carbon-based coating variants were deposited onto stainless steel substrates, and the process pressure during the carbon layer deposition was varied. We conducted Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, interfacial contact resistance measurements, and potentiodynamic polarization tests to examine the effect of the process pressure on the properties of the coatings. The structural characterization revealed that all specimens exhibit a highly sp2-bonded structure. However, some structural differences could also be identified. In the TEM cross-section images of the carbon layer variants, these structural differences could be observed. The carbon layer deposited at 0.98 Pa has some distortions in the mainly perpendicular graphitic structure, which agrees with the Raman results. Almost completely vertically oriented graphitic layers exhibit the 0.1 Pa coating variant with a d-spacing similar to pure graphite. Regarding the contact resistance, the process pressure has only minor influence. All coatings variants have very low resistance values below 3 m Ω cm2, even at a compaction force of 50 N cm−2, which can be attributed to the graphite-like structure. The polarization tests show that the corrosion resistance increases with increasing process pressure. The best coating variant has a corrosion current density of approximately 10 − 8 A cm−2 and almost 10 − 6 A cm−2 at room temperature and 80 ° C, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper is widely used in high heat flux and electrical applications because of its excellent electrical and thermal conductivity properties. Alloying elements such as chromium or nickel are added to strengthen the material, especially for higher temperatures. Cu4Cr2Nb, also known as GRCop-42, is a dispersion-strengthened copper-chromium-niobium alloy developed by NASA for high-temperature applications with high thermal and mechanical stresses such as rocket engines. Additive manufacturing (AM) enables applications with complex functionalized geometries and is particularly promising in the aerospace industry. In this contribution, a parametric study was performed for GRCop-42 and the AM process laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) using a green laser source for two-layer thicknesses of 30 and 60 μm. Density, electrical conductivity, hardness, microstructure, and static mechanical properties were analyzed. Various heat treatments ranging from 400 to 1000 °C and 30 min to 4 h were tested to increase the electrical conductivity and hardness. For both layer thicknesses, dense parameter sets could be obtained with resulting relative densities above 99.8%. Hardness and electrical conductivity could be tailored in the range of 103–219 HV2 and 24%–88% International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS) depending on the heat treatment. The highest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) obtained was 493 MPa. An aging temperature of 700 °C for 30 min showed the best combination of room temperature properties such as electrical conductivity of 83.76%IACS, UTS of 481 MPa, elongation at break (A) at 24%, and hardness of 125 HV2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In powder bed fusion additive manufacturing, the volumetric energy density EV is a commonly used parameter to quantify process energy input. However, recent results question the suitability of EV as a design parameter, as varying the contributing parameters may yield different part properties. Herein, beam current, scan velocity, and line offset in electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF‐EB) of the titanium aluminide alloy TNM–B1 are systematically varied while maintaining an overall constant EV. The samples are evaluated regarding surface morphology, relative density, microstructure, hardness, and aluminum loss due to evaporation. Moreover, the specimens are subjected to two different heat treatments to obtain fully lamellar (FL) and nearly lamellar (NLγ) microstructures, respectively. With a combination of low beam currents, low‐to‐intermediate scan velocities, and low line offsets, parts with even surfaces, relative densities above 99.9%, and homogeneous microstructures are achieved. On the other hand, especially high beam currents promote the formation of surface bulges and pronounced aluminum evaporation, resulting in inhomogeneous banded microstructures after heat treatment. The results demonstrate the importance of considering the individual parameters instead of EV in process optimization for PBF‐EB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epitaxial growth of coarse and columnar grain structures along the build direction of additive manufactured metals is a usual phenomenon. As a result, as-built components often exhibit pronounced anisotropic mechanical properties, reduced ductility, and, hence, a high cracking susceptibility. To enhance the mechanical properties and processability of additive manufactured parts, the formation of equiaxed and fine grained structures is thought to be most beneficial. In this study, the potential of grain refinement by ultrasonic excitation of the melt pool during laser wire additive manufacturing has been investigated. An ultrasound system was developed and integrated in a laser wire deposition machine. AISI 316L steel was used as a substrate and feedstock material. A conversion of coarse, columnar grains (dm = 284.5 μm) into fine, equiaxed grains (dm = 130.4 μm) and a weakening of typical <100>-fiber texture with increasing amplitude were verified by means of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction analysis. It was demonstrated that the degree of grain refinement could be controlled by the regulation of ultrasound amplitude. No significant changes in the dendritic structure have been observed. The combination of sonotrode/melt pool direct coupling and the laser wire deposition process represents a pioneering approach and promising strategy to investigate the influence of ultrasound on grain refinement and microstructural tailoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the average worldwide efficiency of coal-fired power plants stands at about 33 percent. The consistent use of state of the art technologies would enable an increase of the average efficiency of up to 47 percent and thus a sharp reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The importance of improvements in this field becomes apparent when reviewing e.g. plans in Europe in 2017 for new power plants to be built across the continent. About 44 percent of the envisaged 153 gigawatts are still to be generated by fossil-fuel power plants [1]. One technical solution is to increase the steam turbine inlet temperature to 700°C. This, however, requires the use of nickel-based superalloys. Only these alloys satisfy all the requirements with regard to high-temperature, corrosion and oxidation resistance and creep behavior [2], [3]. Due to their relatively poor machinability, forgeability and high material costs compared to the steel-based alloys they are to replace, a more effective welding technology is needed to overcome the disadvantages of conventional welding technologies, i.e. large quantities of filler metal required and high energy input per unit length resulting in distortion and the potential reduction of high-temperature properties.