Zusammenhänge zwischen tribologischem Verhalten und mechanischen Eigenschaften bei harten amorphen Kohlenstoffschichten

Hard amorphous carbon films are distinguished by their high resistance against abrasive, adhesive and corrosive wear. By special vacuum arc deposition methods superhard coatings with hardness above 60 GPa may be deposited at low temperatures on an industrial scale. The tribological behaviour of such coatings is investigated for the unlubricated oscillation test against bearing balls. Also the influence of humidity is demonstrated. The results are correlated with the elastic modulus and the hardness of the films which can be controlled in a wide range by the deposition conditions.