MICROTRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF DIAMOND-LIKE AND HYDROGENATED CARBON COATINGS GROWN BY DIFFERENT METHODS

Microadhesion and wear behaviour of diamond-like coatings and hydrogen ated carbon coatings produced by several different methods was investi gated. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used for microadhesion tes ts. Adhesion force between AFM cantilever and coating surface was meas ured. 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 g rown by graphite electron beam evaporation and ion beam bombardment as sisted electron beam evaporation in hydrogenous ionic atmosphere. Quar tz, silicon and GaAs wafers were used as substrates for deposition. Ad hesion forces evaluated for samples of different microstructure varied in the range 1-100 nN. Different shapes of the force-displacement cur ve were observed for coatings grown using different methods. Our inves tigations point to the ion assisted deposition as the preferred fabric ation method for hard protective coatings.