Microtribological properties of diamond-like and hydrogenated carbon coatings grown by different methods

Abstract

Abstract Microadhesion and wear behaviour of diamond-like coatings and hydrogenated carbon coatings produced by several different methods was investigated. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used for microadhesion tests. Adhesion force between AFM cantilever and coating surface was measured. Adhesion force values were obtained from AFM force-displacement curves. Wear of coatings was evaluated using diamond “tip-on-plate” and steel “ball-on-plate” tribotesters. Investigated coatings were grown by graphite electron beam evaporation and ion beam bombardment assisted electron beam evaporation in hydrogenous ionic atmosphere. Quartz, silicon and GaAs wafers were used as substrates for deposition. Adhesion forces evaluated for samples of different microstructure varied in the range 1–100 nN. Different shapes of the force-displacement curve were observed for coatings grown using different methods. Our investigations point to the ion assisted deposition as the preferred fabrication method for hard protective coatings.