Combination of CVD Diamond and DLC Film Growth with Pulsed Laser Deposition to Enhance the Corrosive Protection of Diamond Layers

Abstract

CVD diamond layers are often used as protective layers. One of the most important of these applications requires pinhole-free layers to protect against fluid materials, such as found in chemically aggressive environment. These pinholes are present even in very good quality CVD diamond films. In this work we combined the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique with Microwave assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MW-CVD). We used CVD diamond films prepared under different conditions and layer thicknesses. Both of these proceses produced inperfect protective layers, but we proved that a PLD DLC film over the diamond layer does reduce the number of pinholes in the coating. We used special chemical alcaline etching to detect the remaining pinholes, and to test the corrosion protective properties of the layers. As a result we were able to prepare samples of 1 x 1cm2 with only 0.2 micron thickness without any pinholes, while in CVD diamond layers a thickness of 2,5 micron was needed for the same level of compactness.