ArticleMicromachines2025
The Influence of Thermal Annealing on the Chemical Composition, Nanomechanical, and Nanotribological Properties of Tantalum Thin Films.
Article in Micromachines, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Tantalum metal and tantalum oxide thin films are commonly used in semiconductor devices, protective coatings, and biomedical implants. However, there is limited information on their nanotribological behavior and small-scale mechanical properties. This study characterized the chemical, mechanical, and tribological properties of as-deposited and 400 °C annealed β-Ta thin films using nanoindentation and atomic force microscope (AFM)-based nanoscale friction and wear tests. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results revealed that a thermally grown Ta oxide layer forms on the surface of Ta film after being annealed at 400 °C. The nanoindentation data indicated an increase in both the hardness and elastic modulus in the heat-treated sample compared to the as-deposited Ta film (13.1 ± 1.3 GPa vs. 12.0 ± 1.4 GPa for hardness) and (213.1 ± 12.7 GPa vs. 175.2 ± 12.3 GPa for elastic modulus). Our nanotribological results show that the friction increased and wear resistance decreased on the surface of the annealed sample compared to the as-deposited Ta film. This discrepancy may be caused by the oxidation of Ta on the film surface, which induces residual compressive stresses in the film and degrades its wear resistance. Our results highlight the influence of thermal annealing and oxidation on nanotribological behavior and small-scale mechanical properties of Ta thin films.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.