ZrB₂/Mo multilayers were prepared by the magnetron sputtering technique on Si (100) and Al₂O₃ (001) substrates. The friction behavior and wear mechanism of the multilayers were tested at variable modulation ratios (t_ZrB2:t_Mo) of 1:1 to 8:1 at different temperatures. Under the influence of an effective modulation ratio and temperature, the friction coefficient and hardness of ZrB₂/Mo multilayers showed an almost opposite change rule, that is, the higher the hardness, the lower the friction coefficient. The hardness and elastic modulus reached the maximum value (26.1 GPa and 241.99 GPa) at t_ZrB2:t_Mo = 5:1 and the corresponding friction coefficient was 0.86. Meanwhile, the hardness and average friction coefficient at 500 °C were, respectively, 8.9 GPa and 1.23. First-principles calculations of the interface model of ZrB₂ (001)/Mo (110) showed that the ionic bonds and covalent bonds at the interface can effectively improve the viscosity of the multilayer and the stability of the interface, and thus increase the hardness. This also indicated that the variation of the friction coefficient was mainly determined by the stability of the interface in the ZrB₂/Mo multilayers.

The effect of active layer deposition temperature on the electrical performance of amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) is investigated. With increasing annealing temperature, TFT performance is firstly improved and then degraded generally. Here TFTs with best performance defined as “optimized-annealed are selected to study the effect of active layer deposition temperature. The field effect mobility reaches maximum at deposition temperature of 150 °C while the room-temperature fabricated device shows the best subthreshold swing and off-current. From Hall measurement results, the carrier concentration is much higher for intentional heated a-IGZO films, which may account for the high off-current in the corresponding TFT devices. XPS characterization results also reveal that deposition temperature affects the atomic ratio and O1s spectra apparently. Importantly, the variation of field effect mobility of a-IGZO TFTs with deposition temperature does not coincide with the tendencies in Hall mobility of a-IGZO thin films. Based on the further analysis of the experimental results on a-IGZO thin films and the corresponding TFT devices, the trap states at front channel interface rather than IGZO bulk layer properties may be mainly responsible for the variations of field effect mobility and subthreshold swing with IGZO deposition temperature.

Effect of the oxygen flow rate for active-layer deposition on the thermal stability of amorphous InGaZnO thin film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) was investigated. The transfer characteristics of a-IGZO TFTs were measured at temperatures ranging from 298 to 398 K and a simple analytical model was used to relate the threshold voltage (Vth) decrease with increasing temperature to the formation of the point defects in a-IGZO films. Lower oxygen flow rate for active-layer deposition was proved to improve the thermal stability of a-IGZO TFTs, as was confirmed to be due to the increase in defect formation energy with the oxygen flow rate decreasing by the related theoretical analysis and XPS measurements.

In order to address the weaknesses of poor corrosion resistance of hydraulic cylinder piston rods, we have developed a surface protection strategy for titanium aluminum nitride coatings by filter cathode vacuum arc (FCVA) technology. The optimization and regulatory mechanism of N₂ flow rate on the microstructure, mechanical, and electrochemical oxidation behaviors have been emphasized. The results indicated that all coatings revealed a nanocrystalline amorphous composite structure dominated by an fcc TiAlN phase. However, the solid solution content, growth orientation, and grain size could be controlled by the nitrogen flow rate, thereby achieving optimized hardness, adhesion strength, corrosion, and oxidation resistance. Specifically, with the increase in the N₂ flow rate, the solid solution content continued to rise, while the crystal orientation transformed from the (111) to the (200) plane, and the grain size initially increased and then decreased. As a result, mechanical properties, including hardness, toughness, resistance to plastic deformation, and adhesion strength, displayed a trend of initially increasing and then decreasing. The corrosion failure of coatings was linked to surface defects controlled by the N₂ flow rate, rather than the composition and phase structure. The coating displayed superior corrosion resistance at low N₂ flow rates due to fewer macroscopic particles and pore defects. This study provides valuable insights into the corrosion behavior of an aluminum titanium nitrogen coating, providing crucial guidance for coating design in harsh environments.