A superhard diamond-like carbon film

A superhard hydrogen-free amorphous diamond-like carbon (DLC) film was deposited by pulsed arc discharge using a carbon source accelerator in a vacuum of 2×10⁻⁴ Pa. The growth rate was about 15 nm/min and the optimum ion-plasma energy was about 70 eV. The impact of doping elements (Cu, Zr, Ti, Al, F(Cl), N) on the characteristics of DLC films deposited on metal and silicon substrates was studied aiming at the choice of the optimum coating for low friction couples. The microhardness of thick (≥20 μm) DLC films was studied by Knoop and Vickers indentations, medium thick DLC films (1–3 μm) were investigated using a ‘Fischerscope’, and Young's module of thin films (20–70 nm) was studied by laser induced surface acoustic waves. The bonds in DLC films were investigated by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), X-ray excited Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adhesion of DLC films was defined by the scratch test and Rockwell indentation. The coefficient of friction of the Patinor DLC film was measured by a rubbing cylinders test and by a pin-on-disk test in laboratory air at about 20% humidity and room temperature. The microhardness of the Patinor DLC film was up to 100 GPa and the density of the film was 3.43–3.65 g/cm³. The specific wear rate of the Patinor DLC film is comparable to that of other carbon films.     

Flexible diamond-like carbon film coated on rubber

Dynamic rubber seals are major sources of friction of lubrication systems and bearings, which may take up to 70% of the total friction. The solution we present is to coat rubbers with diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films by which the coefficient of friction is reduced to less than one tenth. Coating rubber is very challenging because the film must be flexible and strongly adhered to the surface of rubber substrate. Our novel approach is depositing flexible DLC films on rubbers via self-segmentation. By making use of the substantial thermal mismatch between DLC film and rubber substrates a dense crack network forms in DLC films and contributes to flexibility. The size of film micro-segments can be tuned by varying the bias voltage of pulsed-DC plasma CVD, which governs the amplitude of the substrate temperature variation during deposition. The formation mechanism of crack network and its effect on the flexibility and friction of DLC film coated rubbers are scrutinized. This paper provides generic design rules for the deposition of flexible and ultra-low friction DLC films on rubber seals.     

Characterization of hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon film deposited on cyclic olefin copolymer

In this study, the feasibility of the diamond-like carbon (DLC) film as a viable component for cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) substrate overcoat was assessed. Featured by its advanced physical and chemical properties such as high hardness, chemical stability, and wide band-gap optical transparency, the hydrogen-free DLC exhibits promising characteristics as the overcoat for flexible substrates or other TFT components. Ultra smooth, DLC thin films were synthesized by using a filter arc deposition (FAD) system and a cathodic arc evaporation (CAE) system. Raman spectroscopy, ESCA, Nano-Indentation, and electron microscopy were used to characterize the electronic, morphological, and microstructure properties of the DLC coatings. Results indicate that the device-quality DLC needs to be synthesized at lower substrate bias potential to retain high sp³/sp² ratio. The bending tests demonstrated a 30-fold improvement of the DLC-protected COC over that of the unprotected COC. Water vapor permeability tests demonstrated a 25-fold improvement of the DLC-protected COC over that of unprotected COC.     

Femtosecond-laser-induced nanostructure formation and surface modification of diamond-like carbon film

This paper reports the pump and probe experiment for in situ reflectivity measurements in the femtosecond laser ablation that brings about nanoscale modification of diamond-like carbon (DLC) film. The characteristic reflectivity changes observed demonstrate that the formation of periodic nanostructure is preceded by a change in bonding structure of DLC in the ablation at low fluences. We have observed a coherent nonlinear wave-mixing signal that can resolve the ultrafast interaction processes for the nanoscale modification on the film surface. Based on the results obtained, a model of the interaction process is proposed.     

A diamond-like carbon film as a self-alignment layer for LCDs

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films without H deposited with a DC magnetron in-line sputtering system have shown sufficient self-alignment properties towards liquid crystals (LC). The DLC film was successfully used as an alignment layer for LC without any alignment processes such as rubbing or atomic beam bombardment or UV irradiation. From the observations of the test cells, the LC director was aligning parallel to the substrate movement direction of the in-line sputtering system. The alignment property of the DLC films has been demonstrated by a contrast ratio value of close to 200. It appears that DLC film may have anisotropic structure that is interacting with LC to align.     

Effect of hydrogen on the UV Raman intensities of diamond-like carbon

UV Raman spectroscopy is a powerful technique for the investigation of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films because it can provide information on the density, mechanical and optical properties.Here we show a detailed analysis of the G and D peak Raman intensity of hydrogenated DLC (a-C:H) with hydrogen (H) content ranging from 25 to 50 at.%. We show that the G peak Raman intensity strongly increases with the H content. This has been attributed to a strong enhancement of the UV Raman cross-section with the H incorporation.     

Effect of oxygen plasma treatment on non-thrombogenicity of diamond-like carbon films

The non-thrombogenicity of oxygen-plasma-treated DLC films was investigated as surface coatings for medical devices. DLC films were deposited on polycarbonate substrates by a radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method using acetylene gas. The deposited DLC films were then treated with plasma of oxygen gas at powers of 15 W, 50 W, and 200 W. Wettability was evaluated by water contact angle measurements and the changes in surface chemistry and roughness were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscope analysis, respectively. Each oxygen-plasma-treated DLC film exhibited a hydrophilic nature with water contact angles of 11.1°, 17.7° and 36.8°. The non-thrombogenicity of the samples was evaluated through the incubation with platelet-rich plasma isolated from human whole blood. Non-thrombogenic properties dramatically improved for both 15 W- and 50 W-oxygen-plasma-treated DLC films. These results demonstrate that the oxygen plasma treatment at lower powers promotes the non-thrombogenicity of DLC films with highly hydrophilic surfaces.     

Fabrication of fluorine-terminated diamond-like carbon thin film using a hyperthermal atomic fluorine beam

Surface modification of diamond-like carbon (DLC) film was performed using a hyperthermal atomic fluorine beam on the purpose of production of hydrophobic surface by maintaining the high hardness of DLC film. By the irradiation of atomic fluorine beam of a 1.0 × 10²⁰ atoms/cm², the contact angle of a water drop against the DLC surface increased from 73° to 111°. The formation of CF₃, CF₂ and CF bonding on the modified DLC surface was confirmed from the measurements of X-ray photoelectron spectra and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectra. Irradiation of hyperthermal atomic fluorine beam was concluded to produce insulator fluorine-terminated DLC film, which has high F content on the surface, by the taking of the use of neutral atomic beam as a fluorine source.     

Macro-scale superlow friction enabled when MoS2 flakes lubricate hydrogenated diamond-like carbon film

The achievement of superlow friction in moving parts in air can significantly reduce energy consumption. Hydrogenated diamond-like carbon, the most promising superlubric materials which can be applied in mechanical system, was investigated extensively in the past decades. Nevertheless, it is still challenging for hydrogenated diamond-like carbon to achieve superlow friction in moist air. Moreover, some novel and simple strategies to establish superlow friction are desired to be developed for the film in open air. In this paper, a composite structure was simply obtained by depositing MoS₂ flakes on H-DLC film by means of drop-casting process. The results showed that MoS₂ flakes could effectively suppress the energy dissipation and reduce the friction during the sliding process. Macro-scale superlow friction could be achieved with a coefficient of friction as low as 0.005 in air with a relative humidity of 24 ± 2%. The results indicated that with the introduction of MoS₂ flakes, the carbon transfer film/hydrogenated diamond-like carbon contact was evolved into a self-organized and highly ordered MoS₂ transfer film/hydrogenated diamond-like carbon heterogeneous contact. The heterostructure leaded to incommensurate contact between the frictional interfaces, resulting in reducing the friction in order of magnitude and establishing superlow friction during the rubbing period.     

类金刚石膜的制备及应用

类金刚石膜(DLC)由于其良好的特性被广泛应用于各个领域,文章介绍了类金刚石膜的制备方法及特点,并说明了利用类金刚石膜耐磨损高硬度等特点,将类金刚石薄膜经过特殊的方法形成类金刚石纤维的过程,探讨了其在纤维砂轮中,代替Al2O3纤维作为磨料的应用.     

Effect of various adsorbates on electronic states of the thin diamond-like carbon films

The influence of the adsorbed impurity molecules onto energy spectrum of electronic states of the DLC films deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates by direct ion beam from hydrocarbon IC plasma was studied by charge-based deep level transient spectroscopy (Q-DLTS). The strong sensitivity of Q-DLTS spectra to the presence of the vapor water and alcohol at room temperature was found. The principle is that adsorption of any molecules on the surface of the DLC film results in a change of energy spectrum of the electronic states (or trapping centers) at the DLC film surface. For example, a new peak appeared in Q-DLTS spectra in presence of the vapor water and electron state density increased in several orders. Moreover, the effect of different adsorbed molecules (species) on the surface electron states was different and independent, so that different molecules can be detected separately. It was shown to differentiate a few thousand molecules of virtually any impurity adsorbed by DLC film's surface. Such strong surface phenomena of the thin DLC films may be exploited in novel sensitive and selective chemical sensor devices.     

Bacterial adhesion on silicon-doped diamond-like carbon films

In this paper the surface properties of silicon-doped diamond-like carbon films with various Si contents on 316 stainless steel substrate by a magnetron sputtering technique were investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was applied to determine the surface chemical composition of the films. Atomic force microscopy was used for the determination of surface roughness and topography. The sp² contents in the films were determined with Auger electron spectroscopy, which were 67.1%, 34.2% and 25.0% for silicon contents 1%, 2% and 3.8%. The sp³/sp² ratio increases with increasing the silicon contents in the films. Contact angles of three test liquids on the films were obtained with a Dataphysics OCA-20 contact angle analyzer. Surface free energies of the films and their dispersive and polar components were calculated using van Oss acid–base approach. Staphylococcus aureus was used for bacterial adhesion test. The experimental results showed that bacterial adhesion decreased with increasing the silicon content or with increasing sp³/sp² ratio in the films.     

Effect of temperature on sulfur-doped diamond-like carbon films deposited by pulsed laser ablation

In this study, S-DLC films were deposited using pulsed laser ablation of a novel sulfur-graphite (SG) mixture target using an ArF excimer laser (193 nm). The SG targets were made by mixing sulfur and graphite powders at different sulfur molar percentages from 0% to 25%. The S-DLC films were deposited at room temperature, 150 °C and 250 °C. The optical and electronic properties of the doped films were studied. Laser Raman spectroscopy indicated increased graphitic behavior with temperature but decreased with higher sulfur content. Spectroscopic ellipsometry analyses found that the optical band-gap energy, extinction coefficient and reflective index, clearly depended on deposition temperature and sulfur content. Hall Effect measurements indicated n-type carrier with concentration in the range of 1 × 10¹⁴ to 2 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3, strongly depended upon the deposition temperature and amount of sulfur.     

清洗预处理对手表外观件表面镀类金刚石薄膜性能的影响

为解决手表外观件镀层的附着力和硬度不高而产生的膜层脱落和磨损露底等问题,采用阳极层流型气体离子源结合非平衡磁控溅射技术制备了类金刚石膜层,研究了镀前清洗工艺对膜层附着力和耐磨性能的影响.结果表明,所制备的类金刚石膜均匀亮黑,显微硬度为2 232 HV,摩擦系数为0.15.在同一镀膜工艺条件下,手表外观件经彻底清洗后,其...     

Cross-sectional hydrogen content and mass density profiles of diamond-like carbon film by neutron and X-ray reflectivity

The cross-sectional profiles of hydrogen content and mass density of diamond-like carbon (DLC) film were investigated using X-ray and neutron reflectivity. DLC films were prepared using a plasma CVD technique by varying the H₂/(H₂ + CH₄) ratio gas source from 0 to 0.9. The cross-sectional hydrogen content and mass density profiles of the films were calculated by neutron and X-ray reflectivity, and the results were compared with those from elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA).The fitted simulation showed that the mass density gradually decreased with increasing depth, whereas the hydrogen content increased with depth. In both ERDA and reflectivity measurements, the average hydrogen content was more than 30% in all films and tended to increase with the H₂/(CH₄ + H₂) ratio. However, there was a difference in hydrogen content values between the two analyses ranging from 5.1 % to 8.5%.     

Diamond-like carbon film deposited on nitrided 316L stainless steel substrate: A hardness depth-profile modeling

Adhesion and hardness of Diamond-Like Carbon films are improved by nitriding of the steel substrate prior to PVD deposition. Since the mechanical properties of the nitrided steel layer are not homogeneous, i.e. a significant hardness decrease is observed in the upper nitrided layer close to the surface, an outer surface layer of ~ 15 μm is removed prior to the film deposition. In the present work, a 316L stainless steel substrate is nitrided in a cyanide-cyanate solution at 570 °C during 3 h. The coated system involved the deposition of a hydrogenated, amorphous carbon (a-C:H) solid lubricant of ~ 2 μm including a chromium carbide interlayer. The comparison between the hardness behavior of the DLC/steel and the DLC/nitrided steel systems reveals the existence of a very important hardness gap, which highlights the benefit of the nitriding treatment prior to coating deposition. In addition, the microhardness-depth profile is determined from a load-depth curve, by applying a simple hardness model. The predicted change in hardness is found to be in a very good agreement with the experimental profile, which allows the hardness determination both in the white layer and in the diffusion zone over ~ 30 μm in total depth. However, only the composite hardness modeling allows the accurate determination of the intrinsic hardness of the film.     

Roughness effect of mating ball on friction of diamond-like carbon film and friction mechanism in water and air environment

The dependence of DLC film friction on the roughness of stainless steel mating balls was investigated in water and air environments. It was found that the steel ball surface parameters of Ra and surface density of summits (Dsum) showed a high correlation with the film friction in a water environment but in an air environment, the correlation was low with the friction coefficients scattered across the parameters of roughness. The difference in the frictional behaviors was explained by the presence of lubrication film that formed in the water environment. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the friction behaviour of DLC film in water environment was interpreted on the basis of boundary lubrication theory proposed by Nakahara.     

Effects of environmental conditions on fluorinated diamond-like carbon tribology

The effects of environmental conditions and fluorine content on friction of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are determined and discussed. Relative humidity (RH) has a considerable effect on friction values, modifying them up to a factor 2. Two regions of RH are found, depending on its effect over friction. From 20% to 60% of RH, friction decreases probably due to a better substitution of superficial atoms by hydrogen. From 60% to 80% friction remains stable and equal for almost all samples. A possible explanation would be the formation of a physisorbed layer of water on the surface, which would mask the relatively small chemical and structural variations of the films. Moreover, the different components of surface free energy (SFE) are determined using Van Oss–Chaudury–Good model. The results clearly indicate the importance of Lifshitz–Van der Waals component on SFE and the small correction that supposes acid-base interactions. According to this model, the studied DLC is a monopolar basic material. The basic component is reduced when F content is increased.     

Instability of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films during sliding in aqueous environment

The instability of diamond-like carbon (DLC) film deposited on Ti-6Al-4V alloy substrate using the r.f.-PACVD method was investigated under sliding conditions in an aqueous environment. Significant adhesive wear was observed when tested in this environment, while normal abrasive wear occurred in an ambient air of relative humidity about 25%. A critical test was performed to elucidate the reason for the instability which limits the biomedical applications of the DLC coating. By employing a multi-step coating process, it was shown that the instability is closely related to the penetration of water molecules to the interface via through-film defects or pinholes. These results suggest that the stability of DLC film in aqueous environment can be improved by controlling the through-film defects in the DLC coating layer.     

Atmospheric plasma deposition of diamond-like carbon coatings

The atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of diamond-like carbon (DLC) has been investigated. The DLC coatings were grown with a mixture of acetylene, hydrogen and helium that was fed through a linear plasma source. The plasma was driven with radio frequency power at 27.12 MHz. Deposition rates exceeded 0.10 µm/min at substrate temperatures between 155 and 200 °C. Solid-state carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that the coatings contained approximately 43% sp²-bonded carbon and 57% sp³-bonded carbon. Coefficient of friction values for the coatings were found to be 0.24 ± 0.02, which is within the range observed for vacuum deposited DLC.