Pulsed laser deposition of diamond like carbon (DLC) and zirconia-tougened alumina (ZTA) on steels and PMMA

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been carried out with KrF-excimer laser radiation (lambda(L) = 248 nm, tau(L) = 25 ns). The investigations are focused on the adherence of the diamond like carbon (DLC) and the zirconia-tougened alumina (ZTA) on diverse substrates such as: tool steels (1.3202 and 1.3207), stainless steels (1.4301 and 1.4305) and PMMA with different pre-treatments. The analytical techniques used to determine the structural and chemical characteristics of the films are Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The hardness and the elastic modulus of the films are measured by nano-indentation. The tribological characteristics of the DLC and ZTA films are also investigated and compared with those Al2O3 films deposited by PLD.