WEAR-RESISTANCE OF DIAMOND-LIKE COATINGS

A study was given to the wear rate J of diamond-like coatings (DLCs) produced by the destruction of propane in a high frequency discharge and by pulsed vacuum sputtering of graphite. To measure J, we developed a method based on gradual wearing of the specimen to depths that exceed the coating thickness. Experiments were carried out in a stream of corundum particles from a centrifugal accelerator or by the rubbing of a steel ball in an aqueous suspension of corundum powder. Measurements of the quantitative characteristics of wear led to the following conclusions: (1) DLCs produced by graphite sputtering exhibit a higher wear resistance than those obtained by propane destruction; (2) DLC wear caused by a stream of abrasive particles decreases greatly as the incidence angle is decreased; (3) wear resistance of a material with a DLC is determined not by the mechanical characteristics of the coating but depends on DLC adhesion to the substrate; and (4) DLCs feature a lower friction coefficient compared with quartz substrates, DLC adhesion to quartz is enhanced as the energy of condensed ions is raised.