Tribological properties of diamond films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Abstract
Uniform and continuous diamond films have been deposited on Si, Mo, and many other substrates by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. We have developed processes to enhance the adhesion of diamond films to metal substrates for tribological applications. The tribological properties of the diamond films are found to be significantly different depending on their morphology, grain size, and roughness. However, under all cases tested using a ring-on-block tribotester, it is found that for diamond films with a small grain size of 1–3 μm, the coefficient of friction of the diamond films sliding against a steel ring under lubrication of a jet of mineral oil is about 0.04.