Improved tribological properties of sputtered MoS/sub x/ films by ion beam mixing

Ion beam mixing yielded a distinct enhancement in the sliding life of sputtered MoS/sub x/ films without any deterioration of the excellent lubrication properties. This effect occurs only at higher ion energies indicating an improved film-substrate adherence caused by a mixing of the interface, which was confirmed by secondary ion mass spectrometry and topographical investigations. In addition to that a considerable enhancement of the film density was found due to a reorientation of the MoS/sub x/ platelets which led also to an improvement of the effective film thickness