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DOE OSTI2024

JISEA-CSU Sustainable Agriculture Workshop [Slides]

The JISEA-CSU Sustainable Agriculture Workshop was co-hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis Sustainable Agriculture Catalyzer and the Colorado State University Ag Innovation Center, and sponsored by the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine. The workshop brought together researchers, agricultural producers, technology innovators, investors, and policymakers to examine the past, present, and future of the U.S. agriculture and energy strategy. The workshop will feature presentations, panels, and interactive activities that dive into the successes and challenges of the industry to help inform the direction of future research efforts.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Characterizing the composition, structure, and mechanical properties of magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition TiN and TiSiN coatings

Ti(Si)N coatings were deposited on Si wafers via magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition technique. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to study the morphologies, grain size, and thicknesses of the different films. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the titanium nitride cubic phase. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to study the silicon and oxygen levels in the films, and high resolution XPS was used to determine the surface oxide to nitride ratios as well as the silicon–nitrogen environment. The hardness of these films was then determined with nanoindentation. It was shown that grain size and film density could be controlled by the Si level and the ion bombardment to eliminate the oxygen level in the nitride coatings, which led to the harder films. It was suggested that due to the miscibility of Si, a ternary TiSiN solid solution was formed. Stronger (200) orientation of the TiN B1-NaCl crystals was associated with increased hardness of the coatings. In conclusion, this crystalline structure was preserved after incorporating Si.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗