Jindrich Musil

• Professor, D.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics
• Professor at University of West Bohemia

Potassium bromide (KBr) is a material with many potential uses in various branches of physics and technology (in scintillators, for a Fourier spectrometer, electro-optical elements such as IR laser windows, sensors and optical fibers). We conducted a series of combined measurements of thermally stimulated exo-electron emission (TSEE) and thermally...

The article reports on the mechanical properties of alloy films prepared by magnetron sputtering. Cracking is a great drawback of alloy films because it strongly limits many of their practical applications. It is shown that hard alloy films resistant to cracking must be superelastic and exhibit a high ratio H/E* ≥ 0.1; here H is the hardness and E*...

The results of simultaneous measurements of three thermally stimulated phenomena (TSP) are presented as functions of temperature: thermally stimulated exo-electron emission (TSEE), thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) and thermally stimulated desorption (TSD). These phenomena can be described by similar mathematical relationships. The measuremen...

The letter reports on the surface hardening of bulk soft metal materials by protective coatings made of the same metal as bulk but with up to 6 times higher hardness than that of the bulk material. This surface hardening is demonstrated by covering of the Ti substrate with a low hardness H bulk ≈ 5 GPa by a 1200 nm thick Ti coating with a high hard...

The article reports on the investigation of mechanical properties of Si-rich (Zr, Si) alloy films deposited by magnetron sputtering. The main aim of this investigation is to develop flexible hard (Zr, Si) alloy films with enhanced resistance to cracking. The (Zr, Si) films were formed by a pulsed dual magnetron discharge. Mechanical properties and...

This article reports on the formation of strongly overstoichiometric ZrNx>1 and Ti(Al, V)Nx>1 coatings by reactive magnetron sputtering. Problems in the formation of overstoichiometric coatings and possible ways to form strongly overstoichiometric TMNx>1 nitride coatings up to TMNx=2 dinitride coatings are discussed; here, TM are transition metals...

The paper reports on the structure, microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties and oxidation resistance of WNx films with a stoichiometry x = [N]/[W] ranging from 0 to 1.5 prepared by magnetron sputtering. It was found that (i) films with x ≤ 0.20 exhibit α-W structure and columnar microstructure, while films with x ≥ 0.27 exhibit β-W2N...

The energetic characteristics of growth and radiation defects (RDs) in boron carbide films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering on a steel substrate and irradiated with powerful electron and pulsed ion beams were investigated. The relationship between the characteristics of point RDs, the degree of distortion of the electronic structure and t...

The article reports on the influence of a compressive macrostress σ in the Ti(Al,V)N films on their mechanical properties, structure, microstructure, and resistance to cracking. The macrostress σ is controlled by the energy Ebi delivered into the growing film by bombarding ions. The Ti(Al,V)N films were sputtered by a dual magnetron with closed mag...

The article reports on the effect of the energy ℰ delivered into the growing film on its macrostress, microstructure, mechanical properties and resistance to cracking of Ti(Al,V)N films. The Ti(Al,V)N films were deposited on Si(111) and Mo substrates by magnetron sputtering in a mixture Ar + N2 gases using a dual magnetron with closed magnetic fiel...

This letter reports on the formation of hard TiN2 dinitride films prepared by magnetron sputtering. TiN2 films were reactively sputtered in an Ar + N2 gas mixture using a pulsed dual magnetron with a closed magnetic field B. The principle of the formation of TiN2 films by magnetron sputtering is briefly described. The stoichiometry x = N/Ti of the...

The article reports on the formation of high-temperature β-phase films prepared by magnetron sputtering. The principle of formation of the β-phase films is explained. It is shown that the β-phase films are composed of elements that crystallize in different crystal structures and are a novel class of heterostructural films. The properties of the β-p...

This letter reports on great differences in values of the plasma Up and floating Ufl potentials in sputtering discharges generated by single and dual magnetrons. It is shown that (i) the differences in Up and Ufl result in strongly different properties of films sputtered by single and dual magnetrons at the same power delivered to the magnetron dis...

The article reports on the effect of the energy delivered into the growing film by bombarding ions ℰ bi and/or fast neutrals ℰ fn on its structure, microstructure and mechanical properties, and resistance to cracking. The effect of the total delivered energy ℰ = ℰ bi + ℰ fn on the film properties is demonstrated on the Ti(Al,V)Nx films deposited by...

Formation and number of molecules, radicals, and ions in ECR acetylene/argon discharge is studied as functions of gas flow rate, supplied power, and partial pressure of acetylene. The spectra obtained by neutral mass spectrometry (NMS) exhibit the presence of atomic hydrogen and H2 molecules. The quantity of acetylene ions is rather high in the ran...

This paper deals with the mass spectrometric characterization of atoms, radicals and ions generated in the RF magnetron discharges sputtering metal targets in Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe gases. In magnetron discharges different kinds of species such as atoms, radicals and positive and negative ions according to the target material and sputtering gas pressure...

This article reviews the present state of the art in the field of flexible antibacterial coatings which efficiently kill bacteria on their surfaces. Coatings are formed using a reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of the elemental composition and structure of the coating on its antibacterial and mechanical properties is explained. The properti...

The article reports on the effect of (i) the ion bombardment and (ii) the addition of small amount of oxygen into Ar sputtering gas on the structure, microstructure, mechanical properties and macrostress of the (Zr,Ti) alloy films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering. Properties of the (Zr,Ti) alloy films with three different elemental compositions...

This letter reports on the effect of the energy E bi, delivered to the sputtered Ti(Al,V)N film by bombarding ions, on its microstructure, macrostress σ, mechanical properties, and resistance to cracking. The films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Interrelationships between these parameters were investigated in detail. It was shown...

In this work, we focus on study of the formation and behavior of molecules, radicals, and ions in ECR discharge in a mixture of argon and methane. Discharge properties are studied at various conditions; total gas flow (0-50sccm), absorbed microwave power (0-900W) and the partial pressure of methane (0-1.2Pa). Neutral mass spectrometry does not reve...

This article reports on flexible hard Al-Si-N films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering. The structure and mechanical properties of Al-Si-N films were controlled by the content of Si in the film, partial pressure of nitrogen pN2 used in sputtering and the power delivered to the magnetron. The Al-Si-N films with a low (≤ 10 at.%) Si content an...

This article reports on formation of flexible hydrophobic ZrN films with enhanced resistance to cracking prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering. It is shown that (1) the hydrophobicity of the ZrN films is their intrinsic property and all sputtered ZrN films are hydrophobic and (2) the flexibility of the ZrN films with enhanced resistance to crac...

This study investigates how the Cu concentration in Zr-Cu-N films affects the films' antibacterial capacity and mechanical properties. Zr-Cu-N films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering from composed Zr/Cu targets using a dual magnetron in an Ar + N2 mixture. The antibacterial capacity of Zr-Cu-N films was tested on Escherichia coli...

This article reports on the protection of the brittle Zr-Si-O film against cracking in bending by the highly elastic top film (over-layer). In experiments the Zr-Si-O films with different elemental composition and structure were used. Both the brittle and highly elastic films were prepared by magnetron sputtering using a dual magnetron. The brittle...

A series of SiOx containing a-C:H films was deposited on polished silicon substrates by RF PACVD (Radio Frequency Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition) method using methane and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). Three CH4/HMDSO flow ratios and four self-bias voltages were applied for the synthesis of 12 different a-C:H:SiOx coatings having differe...

The article reports on flexible hard nanocomposite coatings prepared by magnetron sputtering. It is shown that the flexible hard nanocomposite coatings (i) represent a new class of coatings which are simultaneously hard, tough and resistant to cracking, (ii) exhibit high values of the hardness H and the effective Young’s modulus E* ratio H/E*  0.1...

The present study focuses on the effect of Cu incorporation into magnetron sputtered alumina films. The transformation phenomena in an Al-O film and Al-Cu-O films with varying Cu content (1.4-9.6 at%) were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction in combination with ab-initio calculations. In the Al-O film, only a...

The paper reports on the effect of Cu content in the Al-Cu-N film on its antibacterial activity and mechanical properties. The Al-Cu-N films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering from composed Al/Cu targets using a dual magnetron. The antibacterial activity of Al-Cu-N films was tested on the killing of Escherichia coli bacteria. Mechanical...

The article reports on the contamination of Ag thin films sputtered from a pure Ag target in Ar and Ne gas by the RF magnetron by gas atoms contained in residual gas atmosphere in the deposition chamber at different values of the base pressure. The amount of O atoms generated at different values of base pressure is compared with the amount of Ag at...

Hydrophobic materials capable of withstanding harsh conditions are required for various applications. Here, we show that oxides and nitrides of various low-electronegativity metals are hydrophobic hard ceramics. We attribute their hydrophobicity to low Lewis acidity of the low-electronegativity cations implying a low ability of the cations on the s...

The paper deals with the microwave free-space diagnostics of high collision arc discharge plasmas. It is found that information about the electron density N and the collision frequency ν in such a plasma can be obtained from the energy transmitted through the plasma by an electromagnetic wave. The phase of the electromagnetic wave cannot be used si...

The chapter reports on reactive magnetron sputtering of advanced hard nanocomposite coatings. It is divided into three parts. The first part briefly summarizes the present state of the art in the field of hard nanocomposite coatings, including the principle of enhanced hardness. The second part reports on advanced nanocomposite coatings. The follow...

Tin-copper-oxide (Sn-Cu-O) thin films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering in an argon-oxygen atmosphere. The effect of the substrate temperature Ts and the amount of Cu in the Sn-Cu-O film on its mechanical and tribological properties was investigated in detail. It was found out that (i) the Sn-Cu-O films prepared at Ts = 500 °C are mor...

An as-deposited metastable structure of alumina coatings can be of essential importance for the transformation processes occurring in the coatings during their annealing. The present study focuses on thermal stability and phase transformations in magnetron sputtered alumina coatings with different as-deposited structures characterized by different...

The paper briefly reports on the present state of art in the field of hard nanocomposite coatings. It is divided in four parts. The first part is devoted to the enhanced hardness of nanocomposite coatings. The second part is devoted to the thermal stability of nanocomposite coatings, thermal cycling of nanocomposite coatings and formation of amorph...

We focus our attention on the study of the initial stage of the silver growth. The silver layers were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering in pure argon or its mixture with nitrogen. The initial stage of the nucleation and the layer growth was studied by means of the optical and electrical monitoring, which are based on a principle of in-situ spect...

We have carried out a systematic study of the influence of Ne, Ar and Kr working gases on both plasma and film properties of RF magnetron sputtering of silver. The magnetron plasma was characterised by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and mass spectrometry. Silver thin film morphology was examined by SEM and AFM. We studied influence of magnetro...

The paper reports on the effect of Cu content in the Cr–Cu–O film and its structure on its antibacterial activity and mechanical properties. The Cr–Cu–O films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering from composed Cr/Cu targets using a dual magnetron. The antibacterial activity of Cr–Cu–O films was tested on the killing of Escheria coli bacte...

The article reports mass spectrometric characterizations of ions generated in RF magnetron discharges generated using silver targets and Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe gases. Both the amount of ions and ion energies in magnetron discharges were investigated. The following ions X+, Ag+, (XAg)+, X2+, Ag2+, X++ and Ag++ were found in the RF discharges; here X = Ne...

The article reports on mechanical and tribological properties of Mo–O–N coatings prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering using a continuous and pulsed inlet of oxygen and nitrogen. Main attention was devoted to a detailed investigation of correlations between the coating structure and its mechanical and tribological properties. The structure of c...

The article reports on a special over-layer which protects brittle coatings deposited on flexible substrates against cracking during bending. It is shown that the over-layer with (i) the low effective Young’s modulus E⁎ = E/(1-ν2) resulting in a high ratio H/E⁎ ≥ 0.1, (ii) the high elastic recovery We ≥ 60% and (iii) the compressive macrostress (σ...

The article reports on the enhanced hardness of nanocomposite coatings, their thermal stability, protection of the substrate against oxidation at temperatures above 1000 °C, X-ray amorphous coatings thermally stable above 1000 °C and new advanced hard nanocomposite coatings with enhanced toughness which exhibit (i) low values of the effective Young...

The paper reports on the structure, mechanical and optical properties of sputtered Zr–Al–O films. The Zr–Al–O films with Zr/Al > 1 and Zr/Al < 1 were prepared by a reactive sputtering using ac pulse dual magnetrons. The magnetrons were equipped with a target composed of Al plate (∅ = 50 mm) fixed to the magnetron cathode by a Zr fixing ring with in...

The article reports on dc pulsed reactive sputtering of two-phase single layer Al-O-N nanocomposite films using dual magnetron in a mixture of N2 + O2 with pulsed inlet of oxygen. Two kinds of nanocomposite films were sputtered: (1) nc-AlN/a-(Al-O-N) film and (2) nc-(γ-Al2O3)/a-(Al-O-N) nanocomposite film; here nc- and a- denotes the nanocrystallin...

The article reports on structure, transparency and mechanical properties of Zr–Al–O oxide thin films with Zr/Al > 1 produced by reactive DC pulse dual magnetron sputtering. Special attention is devoted to the formation of transparent Zr–Al–O oxide films in the transition mode of sputtering and their unique properties. It is shown that (i) the trans...

The article reports on the effect of the addition of copper in the Al2O3 film on its mechanical and optical properties. The Al–Cu–O films were reactively co-sputtered using DC pulse dual magnetron in a mixture of Ar + O2. One magnetron was equipped with a pure Al target and the second magnetron with a composed Al/Cu target. The amount of Al and Cu...

The article reports on the dependency of friction and wear of a-(Ti,C,N) films on the nitrogen content. The amount of nitrogen N in the film was controlled by partial pressure of nitrogen pN2 in the Ar+N2 sputtering gas mixture. It is shown that the incorporation of N in the film results in the increase of (i) the coefficient of friction μ (increas...

The article reports on the elimination of arcing in the DC pulse reactive sputtering of Al2O3 thin films using a single unbalanced magnetron operating at relatively high target power density W-ta ranging from similar to 10 to similar to 50 W/cm(2); W-ta is the target power density averaged over the pulse length. Correlations between pulse length ta...

The magnetron sputtering discharge used to deposit aluminum-doped zinc oxide was analyzed by energy-resolved ion mass spectrometry. The flux of negative ions was measured at three radial positions in the plane of the substrate holder. The oxygen flow phi(O2) was varied from 0 to 17 sccm to investigate the discharge in all operation modes, i.e., met...

Remarkable properties of titanium dioxide films such as hydrophilicity or photocatalytic activity depend largely on their phase composition, microstructure and in particular on the crystallinity. By in-situ X-ray diffraction studies of isochronal and isothermal annealing of amorphous films with different thickness at different temperatures it was f...

The paper is devoted to the investigation of ion composition of plasma of dc pulsed magnetron discharge generated by a magnetron with Al target in an Ar/O(2) mixture. The magnetron discharge was investigated in the non-reactive, metallic and oxide mode of sputtering using a mass spectrometer. The amount and energies of neutral oxygen atoms O, posit...

The paper reports on thermal stability of alumina thin films containing γ-Al2O3 phase and its conversion to a thermodynamically stable α-Al2O3 phase during a post-deposition equilibrium thermal annealing. The films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering and subsequently post-deposition annealing was carried out in air at temperatures rangin...

The paper reports on preparation of ~3000nm thick a-C coatings containing Mo, interrelationships between their mechanical properties, a coefficient of friction μ and wear rate k and the effect of Mo content in the a-C coating on these interrelationships. The Mo–C coatings were prepared by sputtering using an unbalanced magnetron (UM) equipped with...

The paper reports on a reactive deposition of transparent SiO2 films with a low amount (≤3at.%) of Zr prepared from the molten target using the AC pulsed dual magnetron. It is shown that the deposition rate aD of the transparent oxide film strongly increases at the critical target power density (Wt)cr when the solid target starts to melt and the ma...

Several advancements that have undergone in the hard nanocomposite coatings are discussed. The DNG/AM nanocomposite coatings can be created in two ways that includes the creation of nanograins dispersed in the amorphous matrix during coating deposition and post-deposition nanocrystallization of the amorphous material. The most significant feature o...

This article reports on interrelationships between x-ray structure, mechanical properties, coefficient of friction μ, and wear coefficient k of ∼3000 m thick nc-TiC/a-C nanocomposite films sputtered using unbalanced magnetron from a composed C/Ti target (=100 mm); here nc and a denotes the nanocrystalline and amorphous phase, respectively. It is s...

Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and mass spectrometry were used for plasma investigation of DC pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering of aluminium oxide. Aluminium target was sputtered in a reactive oxygen/argon atmosphere. Special attention was paid to the transition from the dielectric to metallic mode. Mass spectra were recorded at the substra...

The article reports on structure, optical properties, UV-induced hydrophilicity and biocidal activity of DC sputtered Cu-containing TiO2 thin films. The TiO2/Cu films with low (≤10at.%) Cu content were reactively sputtered from a composed Ti/Cu target in a mixture of Ar+O2 at different partial pressures of oxygen pO2 on glass substrates held on flo...

Titanium dioxide films have many remarkable properties, for example photocatalytic activity and hydrophilicity. However, these properties depend significantly on the crystallinity, phase composition and microstructure of the films. In this study, crystallization of amorphous films with different thickness (50-2000 nm) deposited on silicon substrate...

The article reports on structure, mechanical, optical, photocatalytic and biocidal properties of Ti-Ag-O films. The Ti-Ag-O films were reactively sputter-deposited from a composed Ti/Ag target at different partial pressures of oxygen pO(2) on unheated glass substrate held on floating potential U(fl). It was found that addition of ~2 at.% of Ag into...

The article reports on the evolution of the structure, mechanical properties and protection ability of 7 μm thick Zr-containing SiO2 coatings during thermal cycling in air. The films were reactively sputtered from a composed target (a Si plate fixed by a Zr ring with inner diameter ØinZr=20 mm) using a closed magnetic field dual magnetron system op...

The article reports on properties of a-C films containing different amount of Cu. Films were sputtered by unbalanced magnetron from a graphite target with Cu fixing ring in argon under different deposition conditions. Relationships between the structure, mechanical properties, macrostress σ and coefficient of friction (CoF) μ of a-C/Cu films sputte...

The distribution and form of the discharge in dual magnetron (DM) depends not only on the polarity of magnets used in both magnetrons but also on the distribution of magnetic field lines. For tilted DM, a naturally created gradient of magnetic field generates a drift of plasma that results in a deflection of the discharge from the plane of symmetry...

The article reports on the effect of addition of Ti into Al2O3 films with Ti on their structure, mechanical properties and oxidation resistance. The main aim of the investigation was to prepare crystalline Al–Ti–O films at substrate temperatures Ts ≤ 500 °C. The films with three different compositions (41, 43 and 67 mol% Al2O3) were reactively sput...

This article reports on two classes of novel hard amorphous coatings: (a) Si3N4/MeNx coatings with high (?50 vol.-%) content of Si3N4 phase; here Me=Zr, Ta, Ti, Mo, W, etc. and x=N/Me is the stoichiometry of MeNx metal nitride phase, and (b) Si–B–C–N coatings with strong covalent bonds. These nanocomposites exhibit high thermal stability against cr...

The article reports on properties of Al–Si–N films with a low (≤ 10 at.%) and high (≥ 25 at.%) Si content reactively sputtered using a closed magnetic field dual magnetron system operated in ac pulse mode. The films were sputtered from a composed target (a Si plate fixed by an Al ring with inner diameter Øi = 15 or 26 mm). Main attention was devote...

The article reports on correlations between the process parameters of reactive pulsed dc magnetron sputtering, physical properties and the photocatalytic activity (PCA) of TiO2 films sputtered at substrate surface temperature Tsurf≤180°C. Films were deposited using a dual magnetron system equipped with Ti (Ø50mm) targets in Ar+O2 atmosphere in oxid...

Temperature dependence of microstructure and phase composition of two sets of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin Films magnetron deposited oil glass and silicon substrates have been Studied by X-ray scattering. X-ray powder diffraction patterns were measured in parallel beam optics and evaluated by the total pattern fitting. After annealing, the amorphous f...

New physical phenomenon consisting in development of the surface temperature Tsurf, which being equal to the substrate temperature Ts at the beginning of deposition, steeply increases and becomes several times higher than Ts at the end of the process, is revealed by means of IR-camera and new calorimetric method during sputter deposition of metal f...

Two sets of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films magnetron deposited on glass and silicon substrates have been studied by X-ray scattering and measurements of contact angle of water drop on the film surface. Phase analysis and X-ray line broadening were studied by X-ray powder diffraction in parallel beam optics, the residual stresses were measured with...

Crystallization of a set of magnetron deposited TiO2 thin films with different thickness in the range of 54 - 2000 nm has been studied by X-ray scattering. Phase analysis, lattice parameters and X-ray line broadening were studied by X-ray powder diffraction in parallel beam optics, the residual stresses were measured with the aid of the Eulerian cr...

This article reports on a new class of amorphous a-Si3N4/MeNx nanocomposite coatings with a high (≥50 vol.%) content of Si3N4 phase; here Me=Zr, Ta, Mo and W. These nanocomposites exhibit high (>1000°C) thermal stability against crystallization and high (>1000 °C) oxidation resistance if the metal Me incorporated in the nanocomposite is correctly s...

The article reports on low-temperature high-rate deposition of hydrophilic Ti O ₂ thin films using dc pulse dual magnetron (DM) sputtering in an Ar + O ₂ mixture on unheated glass substrates. DM is operated in a bipolar asymmetric mode and is equipped with Ti (99.5%) targets 50 mm in diameter. Main attention is concentrated on...

This article reports on investigation of the correlations between the process parameters, structure, and surface morphology of sputtered TiO2 films prepared by magnetron sputtering. It has been found that the increase in the partial pressure of oxygen results in (i) the decrease of TiO2 film deposition rate and (ii) strong changes in its structure....

The article reports on the effect of Al addition on the structure, macrostress σ, mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of TiC-Al thin films. These films were sputtered using dc unbalanced magnetron equipped with a TiC target (purity 99.95%) fixed with an Al (99.99%) fixing ring of various inner diameters Øin. It was found that a continuou...

This article reports on photoactivity of sputtered TiO2 films induced by UV irradiation. TiO2 films were prepared by dc pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering using a dual magnetron operated in bipolar mode and equipped with Ti targets. The photoactivity of TiO2 films, characterized by the water droplet contact angle (WDCA) on the film surface after...

The article reports on the effect of addition of H2 into a mixture of Ar + O2 on the process of dc reactive magnetron sputtering of oxides and the electrical conductivity of transparent oxide films. Four systems were investigated: (i) InSnO (ITO), (ii) TiO2, (iii) TiYO, and (iv) ZrO2 films. It was found that the addition of H2 into Ar + O2 sputteri...

The article reports on mechanical properties and oxidation of amorphous Ti-Si-N films with a high (>20 at.-%) content of Si reactively sputtered using a closed magnetic field dual magnetron sputtering system operating in AC pulse mode. The films were sputtered from compound targets on Si(100), 15 330 steel and Al2O3 substrates. It was found that (1...

The article deals with oxidation of Cu, Zr, ZrCu, ZrO2, and Zr-Cu-O films during post-deposition thermal annealing in flowing air. The films were deposited using dc unbalanced magnetron from pure or composed target in Ar or an Ar + O2 mixture. The oxidation behavior of the films was characterized by high-temperature thermogravimetry and XRD. Mechan...