Diamond and Diamond Like Carbon Coatings

Abstract

SUMMARYDiamond and diamond like carbon (DLC) exhibit properties which make them attractive for a range of applications from coatings on cutting tools through to heat dissipation in hybrid integrated circuits and wear resistant biocompatible coatings for surgical prostheses. Properties include high hardness, wear resistance, low coefficient of friction, chemical inertness, high thermal conductivity and low electrical conductivity.A range of processes based on physical and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technologies are used to deposit diamond and DLC. Processes involving microwave assisted CVD and thermally excited (hot filament) CVD are the principal processes for the growth of thin film diamond. Radio frequency plasma assisted CVD and dual ion beam sources are typical techniques for the growth of DLC.Although diamond and DLC coatings are at the production stage there is still the major problem of service reliability to be overcome, that is, problems of coating adhesion and residual stresses.The research effort at Nottingham is centred on the use of diamond coatings for improved cutting effectiveness, and diamond like carbon coatings for biocompatible wear resistant coatings.