The low adherence of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on titanium (Ti) alloys can be improved by using interlayer coatings. In this study, DLC (a-C:H) films were deposited using radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PECVD), and a TiCN interlayer was applied between the extra low interstitial (ELI) grade of Ti-6Al-4V alloy and a-C:H film. The characteristics of the a-C:H-coated Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy were investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy, Vickers hardness, and scratch and wear tests. The DLC (a-C:H) films deposited by rf-PECVD had a thickness of 1.7 μm, and the TiCN interlayer hada thickness of 1.1 μm. Vickers hardness of the DLC (a-C:H) films were increased as a result of the influence of the TiCN interlayer. The resulting friction coefficient of the a-C:H-coated Ti-6Al-4V with the TiCN interlayer had an extremely low value of 0.07.
Titanium-based compounds are widely spread coating materials for mechanical, tribological, electrical, optical, catalytic, sensoric, micro-electronical applications due to their exceptionally physical and chemical properties. Recently, the trend of using temperature-sensitive materials like polymers and also tool steels of the highest hardnesses demands new low-temperature coating techniques for protective surface finishing as well as for functionalization of the surfaces. Titanium-based compounds can fulfill a wide range of these demands, but up to now there is a lack of industrially designed vacuum coating techniques operating at the temperatures lower than 50 °C necessary for these applications. The Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) process is known as one of the most promising candidates for the such problems. But up to now PLD is a well-established laboratory coating technology and has not become a standard industrial coating technique despite its outstanding process features. The missing of PLD coating systems, which fulfil the requirements for industrial applications like high-rate deposition and adequate sizes of deposition chambers is considered as one of the main obstacles for a breakthrough of the PLD technique. To overcome this problem an industrially designed PLD coating system has been developed and built at the Laser Center Leoben of JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH. The current paper summarizes results of structural, mechanical, tribological, optical and electrical investigations of the presently most important Ti-based coatings metallic titanium, titanium nitride (TiN), titanium oxide (TiO2) and titanium carbonitride (TiCN).
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