Electrical and tribological properties of copper-based surface alloys formed with a low-energy high-current electron beam

The electrical and tribological properties of multicomponent surface alloys (stainless steel (SS)-Cu) formed on copper substrate with a low-energy (20-30 keV) high-current (10-30 kA) electron beam (LEHCEB) of microsecond pulse duration (2-4 μm) have been investigated. Formation of surface alloys has been performed using deposition of SS films by means of magnetron sputtering followed by a LEHCEB liquid-phase mixing. A thickness of formed SS-Cu alloys was ranging from 1 to 10 μm. Investigation of properties of copper electrodes with SS-Cu alloy at the surface showed almost three times increase in the electrical strength of vacuum insulation (1 MV/cm) compared with that for initial copper electrodes (0.35 MV/cm). The reached electrical strength of vacuum insulation appear to be close to that for electrodes made of SS. Moreover, scratch tests revealed the significant improving of adhesion of coating to a substrate for surface alloys compared with that for the magnetron deposited coating.