K. Bewilogua et al., Effect of target material on deposition and properties of metal-containingDLC (Me-DLC) coatings, SURF COAT, 127(2-3), 2000, pp. 224-232
Metal containing diamond-like carbon (Me-DLC) coatings were prepared by mag
netron sputter deposition using tungsten, tungsten carbide, niobium and tit
anium as target materials. An essential parameter for the process character
ization is the target voltage. The substrate heating during the film growth
depends on the target material. For the tungsten target, the contribution
of energetic neutrals to the heat flux is quite high. From the viewpoint of
resistance to abrasive wear, the best properties were found for W-DLC. The
Nb-DLC coatings have an intermediate wear rate but offer the lowest fricti
on coefficients and a high performance under adhesive wear loading. All Me-
DLC coatings investigated in this study exhibit clearly higher wear rates t
han metal-free DLC films prepared by a radio frequency glow discharge techn
ique. Metallic intermediate layers allow the preparation of coatings with a
very good adhesion. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.