Mofifications of molybdenum-disulphide films by ion-bombardment techniques

The present paper reports on the structural and tribological studies of MoSx films in the thickness range of 3-4000 Angstrom bombarded with inert-gas ions in the hundred-keV energy range. It has been shown that it is possible to amorphize MoS1.8 crystalline films with 400-keV Ar ions at a dose of 1 x 1016 ions/cm2. Contrary to previous studies, there is evidence for both a low-friction coefficient and in an increased sliding life of sputtered MoSx films when amorphized by the ion-bombardment technique. The paper discusses the influence of ion dose and tribological differences between bombarded and nonbombarded MoSx films. With the availability of high-intensity ion beams in the mA range, the possibility of a direct ion synthesis of a molybdenum surface with high-intensity sulphur-ion beams is discussed, and friction measurements of these systems are presented