Adhesion of SiO2 thin films to plasma-treated SUS304 stainless steel substrates

The adhesion strength of the coated SiO2 thin film to SUS304 stainless steel substrates with various surface treatment conditions is studied in this research. The surface of the SUS304 stainless steel substrate is first treated with 1000-W plasma and then a SiO2 thin film is deposited onto the surface via radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Scanning electron microscopy is employed to observe the surface and cross section of the coating and X-ray diffraction is used to analyze the crystallographic structure. Moreover, a nanoscratch test instrument was employed to examine the indentation, scratches, coating hardness, modulus of elasticity, coefficient of friction, and critical adhesion of the SiO2 film and to obtain surface profiles. A comparison of the coating adhesion of the substrate surfaces with and without plasma treatment indicates that critical adhesion increases significantly after Ar/N2/O2 plasma treatment.