Diamond film deposition on WC–Co and steel substrates with a CrN interlayer for tribological applications

Abstract

The most renowned property of diamond is its exceptional hardness. By depositing diamond films on tungsten carbide (WC–Co) and steel substrates, the hardness of diamond can be combined with the toughness of these materials, resulting in an excellent wear resistance material for tribological applications. However, poor adhesion of diamond coating on these substrates leads to a lesser lifetime for the diamond coated tools than expected. The prime reasons for the lack of proper adhesion are the preferential formation of graphitic layer at the interface due to the catalytic activities of cobalt/iron and the interfacial residual stresses due to the mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients of diamond (1.5 × 10−6 K−1) and WC–Co (5.2 × 10−6 K−1) or steel (12 × 10−6 K−1). In this review, we discuss the possibility of using a Cr–N interlayer as a diffusion barrier to prevent the catalytic activities of cobalt/iron and also to relax the interfacial residual stresses to some extent to enhance the adhesion of diamond coatings on these substrates. An overview of the most pertinent results of the last two decades, including the recent progress is introduced. We describe in detail how the Cr–N interlayer with the desired properties is fabricated. We give a concise overview of diamond deposition process, including the methods to vary the grain size from microcrystalline to nanocrystalline, which are suitable for some tribological applications. We describe in detail on surface and interface analysis, residual stress measurements, assessment adhesion strength and tribological performance of diamond coated WC–Co and steel substrates using various characterization techniques. We conclude by highlighting the current progress and future perspectives of diamond coatings on these substrates for tribological applications.