Film adhesion and bonding
Physico-chemical characterization of coatings and thin films with tribological applications

All coatings have to adhere to the substrate, hence the need to study adhesion and carry out adhesion tests under various stresses (thermal, environmental) and to study the ageing of the coated material and, more specifically, the interface. Adhesion of the film to the substrate is ensured by the bonding forces between the two materials along the interface and, in some cases, by the mechanical anchoring provided by the roughness of the interface [1]. Adhesion is therefore highly dependent, among other parameters, on substrate surface preparation.

Adhesion corresponds to the mechanical conditions (force, torque, fracture energy) producing interface failure: it therefore increases with adhesion but, as mechanical stresses deform film and substrate, it also depends on the mechanical behavior (rheology) of the film and substrate materials. Adhesion is therefore assessed...