Abstract
The paper presents the AISI 316L stainless steel surface modification by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition of a-C:H:SiOx film using the pulsed bipolar substrate bias voltage. The mechanical and tribological properties of the a-C:H:SiOx film and the steel surface are examined using the nanoindentation method and the pin-on-disk tribometer, respectively. The optimum value is obtained for the amplitude of the negative pulse of the bipolar bias voltage, when the hardness of the a-C:H:SiOx film is high (19±2 GPa). This hardness value is 3.5 times greater, than the hardness of the AISI 316L steel surface (5.5±0.1 GPa). At the same time, the coefficient of friction of the film is low (0.08), which is 9 times lower than that of the steel (0.72). The wear rate values are found to be 8.5×10-7 and 3.7×10-5 mm3N-1m-1 for the coated and uncoated steel, respectively. The structure and composition of the obtained films are studied by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
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