Jorn
Larsen-Basse
Surface Engineering and
Material Design Program
National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230, USA.
The National Science Foundation supports basic research in materials science and engineering through a number of different divisions and programs and in a number of different funding modes. As part of that activity, research in surface engineering has been growing quite rapidly during the past ten years, much of it focused on hard coatings for tribological applications which will be a primary focus of this presentation.
NSF funds primarily university researchers. Most projects are quite small and are carried out by a professor with one or two graduate students, but small groups and even quite large centers are also supported, with many of the centers focused on encouraging industry-university collaboration in research. Projects are selected for support based on research proposals, most of them unsolicited. They are evaluated by other members of the research community. This system is intended to bring forth the best quality basic research, with no specific “mission” application, as determined by the research community and not by bureaucrats in Washington.
In this paper I will summarize a sampling of past and current research projects on diamond and DLC coatings, on hard coatings in general, and on carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotechnology. The topics cover the range from materials science and processing, to mechanics of thin film and non-destructive testing. Some of the examples are:
- in-situ sensors for CVD process control
- use of buckyballs as boundary lubricant films
- use of buckyballs in “shot peening” of growing optical films
- deposition and properties of carbon nitride films
- ion beam implantation for various property modifications
- wear of C* films on hard disks
- nanolayered films for improved hardness
- polishing of CVD diamond films
- measuring properties of coating/substrate interface with shear waves
- nanoindentation and nanoscratching to determine mechanical properties of thin films
- mechanics of structured and layered thin films
- nanomechanics
- preparation of carbonaceous and diamond films from SiC
- techniques for determining internal stresses in thin films
In the past few years, a major national initiative has been launched on the general topic area of nanotechnology. NSF is a major participant in this activity and a large number of proposals have recently been evaluated. A number of those deal with carbon nanotubes in a variety of intended applications, from fibers in composite materials to heat transfer films, and with a number of ways of making, testing, and manipulating the fibers. Some of the recently initiated research projects in this area will also be discussed. The nanotechnology initiative has generated much public interest and it appears that it will receive significant funding for several years to come. This should provide excellent opportunities for researchers in the area of carbon and other nanotubes as well as other forms of carbon nanotechnology.
Keywords: NSF, hard coatings, nanotubes, nanotechnology initiative, mechanical properties, nanomechanics
Jorn Larsen-Basse
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Rm. 545
Arlington, VA 22230, USA
Fax: +001-703-292-9053, Phone: +001-703-292-7016