Synthesis and Tribological Behavior of Silicon Oxycarbonitride Thin Films Derived from Poly(Urea)Methyl Vinyl Silazane

A process for deposition of silicon oxycarbonitride films from poly(urea)methyl vinyl silazane (PUMVS) by spin coating precursor solutions onto a substrate, followed by polymerization, cross‐linking and pyrolysis has been developed. The cross‐linked polymer films (350 nm thick), deposited on variety substrates (e.g., silicon, sapphire, zirconia), were pyrolyzed in nitrogen or ammonia environments either in a hot isostatic press or in a tube furnace. Their microstructure was characterized using infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The tribological (friction and wear) behavior was evaluated in dry nitrogen and air with 50% relative humidity using a unidirectional linear wear tester in a ball‐on‐disk configuration. Wear surfaces, transfer films and wear debris were analyzed by scanning electron micrograph (SEM)/energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).