| Nanomaterials have assumed substantial importance due to their exotic chemical, mechanical, optical and electro-magnetic properties. Our research focuses on producing nanoparticulate building blocks for producing and evaluating superhard films and micropatterns. Nanoparticles of Si, Ti, their carbides and nitrides are generated by injecting gas-phase precursors into a thermal plasma jet and expanding the flow through a convergent boron nitride nozzle into a low-pressure chamber. The particles subsequently deposit onto temperature-controlled silicon or molybdenum substrates via hypersonic impaction. High impact velocities of about ∼1650 m/s (calculated for a 20 nm SiC particle) are the primary mechanism by which nanoparticles are consolidated into films. We have developed an aerodynamically focused nanoparticle beam deposition method for micromolding of nanoparticulate MEMS components. Evaluation of basic mechanical properties of such materials is of significant interest as they have been proposed to be extremely hard, wear- and friction-resistant. For engineering purposes, the Young's modulus of a material is one of the most important properties tied to design of components and coatings. We have developed a Nanoindenter-aided load-deflection measurement system for evaluating the Young's modulus of our nanoparticle composites. The Nanoindenter deflects clamped-clamped beams machined from our deposits using focused ion beam (FIB) milling. The nanoparticle beams behave elastically for small deformations. Porosity variation in our deposits was linked to variation of measured Young's moduli for the FIB-milled beams. Finally we have used discrete element method models (using PFC3D, Itasca Consulting Group) with support from molecular dynamics simulations to create a multiscale framework to mimic the measured Young's modulus behavior of our nanoparticulate deposits. We have found that higher impact velocity of the particles leads to larger contact radii between impacting particles which in turn enhances the Young's modulus of the nanocomposite. |
