Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Cr-DLC Coatings Deposited by ARC-MAG-RF PACVD Hybrid Method

The procedure of Cr-DLC coating deposition using a hybrid ARC-MAG-RF PACVD method is presented in this paper. ARC and MAG techniques were used to deposit a Cr/Cr-C:H interlayer with increasing hardness, but a nearly constant elastic modulus of the value similar to a steel substrate and DLC layer deposited then by RF PACVD technique. As a result of such coating formation the lower level of stresses in the coating-substrate system, both intrinsic and induced by the load applied, was obtained. The resultant Cr-DLC coating is marked by high crack resistance and high adhesion. The Cr-DLC coating shows high wear resistance, but the wear geometry and the friction coefficient depend on a type of the counterpart material.