Physical properties of diamond like carbon coatings deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

In this paper graded DLC based coatings and multilayers have been deposited by a physical vapour deposition technique which have become known as unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The main features of this technique is its flexibility, good adhesion, dense coatings and scaleability of the deposition process for a wide range of coatings, required for mechanical engineering applications. The structure, adhesion, hardness, friction, wear and lifetime have been measured using various techniques, e.g. typical properties include micro hardness of 400 Hv, excellent adhesion, low coefficient of friction of 0.15 running against WC and wear rates of 1/5 of that of TiN. This technology overcomes many of the traditional limitations of standard physical vapour deposition techniques. The process is ideally suited for large substrate sizes, high throughout and complex shapes. (author)