Abstract
In the present study, laser surface texturing was tested with the aim of improving the tribological properties of a diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating. Two experimental campaigns were designed to realize different micro-grids, and to study the effect of marking speed, laser power, and loop cycle. The grid profiles obtained were analyzed using a digital microscope and a laser probe system to measure the track cross section. At the end of the experiments, the authors identified a good-quality track obtained by imposing a marking speed of 300 mm/s, a power of 0.5 W, and one loop cycle. For the identified condition, the presence of defects (such as cracks) on both the coated surface and at the substrate/coating interface was analyzed. Furthermore, the coating nanohardness, adhesion to the substrate, and wear behavior in dry condition were investigated. The results underline how laser texturing can improve the DLC wear behavior (wear tracks lower than 30%) without considerably affecting the other tested coating properties.
Highlights
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is the commonly used term for the hydrogenated form of diamond-like carbon (a-C:H), while nonhydrogenated carbon (a-C) is usually termed tetrahedral carbon
The results showed that the DLC coatings with the appropriate dimple density (10%) and diameter (100 μm) demonstrated an obvious improvement in terms of the friction coefficient and wear rate compared with that of the un-textured DLC coatings
The results showed that DLC films with an appropriate dimple area density (44%) were effective in enhancing the friction-reduction property of a titanium alloy substrate, owing to the entrapment of the wear particles in the dimples and to the dimple-induced graphitization during sliding motions, while the 24% textured specimen exhibited outstanding wear resistance
Summary
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is the commonly used term for the hydrogenated form of diamond-like carbon (a-C:H), while nonhydrogenated carbon (a-C) is usually termed tetrahedral carbon (taC). The properties of both these coatings depend strongly on the hydrogen content and on the s p3/sp bond ratio, which in turn depend on the deposition process and its parameters. DLC-positive mechanical properties can be tailored as a function of the deposition parameters, or by using metals or non-metals as dopant elements [7, 8].
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