Fabrication of Nanodiamond Coating on Steel

• Main Authors: Rafael Velázquez, Victor F. Neto, Kishore Uppireddi, Brad R. Weiner, Gerardo Morell
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2013-12-01
• Series: Coatings
• Subjects: diamond coating on steel; CrN; hot filament chemical vapor deposition; nanocrystalline diamond; microcrystalline diamond; carbon nanotubes
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/3/4/243

The hardness, heat conductivity and low friction coefficient of microcrystalline diamond make it a suitable candidate for tribological applications. However, its roughness and high deposition temperature pose significant obstacles to these applications. We have successfully grown nanocrystalline diamond on steel at 400 °C by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition by employing a CrN interfacial layer. Nanocrystalline diamond combines hardness and surface smoothness required in tribological applications. Microcrystalline diamond and carbon nanotubes can also be grown by controlling the deposition parameters. The fabricated films were characterized with Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).