Adhesion enhancement of DLC hard coatings by HiPIMS metal ion etching pretreatment

Poor adhesion is a recurrent problem for the wider use of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings in industrial applications. In this work, we investigate the effectiveness of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) metal ion etching to improve the adhesion of DLC coatings on high speed steel su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Surface & coatings technology 2018-09, Vol.349, p.787-796
Main Authors: Santiago, J.A., Fernández-Martínez, I., Wennberg, A., Molina-Aldareguia, J.M., Castillo-Rodríguez, M., Rojas, T.C., Sánchez-López, J.C., González, M.U., García-Martín, J.M., Li, H., Bellido-González, V., Monclús, M.A., González-Arrabal, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adhesion
Adhesion tests
Coating effects
Contaminants
Diamond-like carbon (DLC)
Diamond-like carbon films
Eels
Etching
Glow discharges
Hard coatings
High speed tool steels
HiPIMS
Industrial applications
Interface structure
Ion etching
Magnetron sputtering
Metal ions
Microstructure
Morphology
Pretreatment
Protective coatings
Substrates
Titanium
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Summary:Poor adhesion is a recurrent problem for the wider use of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings in industrial applications. In this work, we investigate the effectiveness of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) metal ion etching to improve the adhesion of DLC coatings on high speed steel substrates. The influence of HiPIMS pretreatment parameters, the metal ion selection for the process and the addition of bonding layers on the adhesion properties were studied. Daimler-Benz and nanoscratch test methods were used to evaluate the adhesion. The elemental composition, morphology and microstructure of the samples were evaluated by EELS, SEM, AFM and HRTEM. In general, samples pretreated with HiPIMS metal ion etching withstand larger critical loads than those pretreated by conventional Ar+ glow discharge and bonding layers. The pretreatment is proven to be very effective at removing surface contaminants and providing a gradual interface. The selection of Cr over Ti contributes to a significant improvement on the adhesion due to the reduction of the oxygen level at the interface thus ensuring an optimal coating-substrate contact and a more compliant structure, which prevents the delamination failure. •HiPIMS pretreatment method for enhanced DLC adhesion on steel substrates is proposed.•HiPIMS metal ion etching process parameters are optimized for Cr and Ti.•Improved adhesion relates to substrate oxides removal and a gradual interface.•Superior DLC adhesion with Cr due to lower O2 gettering and more compliant interface
ISSN:0257-8972
1879-3347
DOI:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2018.04.090