Abstract
Silicon nitride (Si 3N 4) ceramics coated with nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films are promising materials for tribological applications. In this work, NCD films are deposited on Si 3N 4 ceramic substrates in pulsed Ar/H 2/CH 4 microwave discharges. Comparisons with films elaborated in continuous mode on Si 3N 4 and Si substrates, and on Si substrates in pulsed mode are achieved. The results give evidence for the growth of diamond films with a relatively high growth rate above 1 μm/h. Good nanocrystalline features are obtained, with a small grain size below 20 nm and a surface roughness lower than 40 nm. The paper emphasizes that the great interest of the pulsed mode is to enable the deposition of good-quality NCD films on ball-shaped Si 3N 4 ceramics, by preventing the graphite formation observed in continuous regime due to a high plasma heating. Pulsed microwave discharges are then hopeful processes for treating complex-shape Si 3N 4 ceramics appropriate for specific tribological applications.
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