Modifications of Molybdenum-Disulphide Films by Ion-Bombardment Techniques

Abstract

AbstractThe present paper reports on the structural and tribological studies of MoSx films in the thickness range of 3-4000 Å bombarded with inert-gas ions in the hundred-keV energy range. It has been shown that it is possible to amorphize MoS1.8 crystalline films with 400-keV Ar ions at a dose of lxl016 ions/cm2 Contrary to previous studies, there is evidence for both a lowfriction coefficient and an increased sliding life of sputtered MoSx films when amorphized by the ion-bombardment technique. The paper will discuss the influence of ion dose and tribological differences between bombarded and nonbombarded MoSx films. With the availability ofhigh-intensity ion beams in the mA range, the possibility of a direct ion synthesis of a molybdenum surface with high-intensity sulphur-ion beams will be discussed, and friction measurements of these systems will be presented.