Harte Kohlenstoffschichten für tribologische Anwendungen

Friction and wear limit the life of tribological systems and lead to damage valued in billion. In many cases tribologically stressed components or tools can only be economically operated with the use of lubricants. Tribologically effective thin films can replace lubricants or reduce the extent of their use. But only carbon based coatings like DLC (diamond-like carbon) and polycristalline diamond films combine low friction with a high wear resitant. DLC coatings can be produced by different CVD- and PVD-processes at temperatures below 200 °C. Today some modifications of DLC exists with different properties. Metalfree DLC coatings are of high hardness and good insulators. Metalcontaining coatings (MeC:H) are conductive and have better adhesion on different substrate materials. Doping the film with elements like silicon or oxygene leads to transparent films or surfaces with excellent non-stick properties. The best wear and corrosion resistance we know and also excellent friction properties show very smooth diamond films deposited by a activated CVD-prozess.