Protective antifriction multilayer nanostructured coating by ion-plasma sputtering A Urbahs, M Urbaha, K Savkovs et al. Abstract. This article reports on the investigation of mechanical properties of carbon films deposited by dual magnetron sputtering system with closed and mirror magnetic field. There is shown that a-C films with predominantly sp 2 -phase have relatively high hardness (up to 20 GPa) and low friction index (~0.01). The influence of magnetic field on friction index is determined. The analysis of experimental data shows the obtained a-C samples can be used for biomedicine applications. IntroductionInterest in increase of life-time of medical implants by improving wear resistance has been enhanced. The promising approach in this way is surface modification by deposition thin films. The most medical applications require good adhesion and reduction of friction index of operation surface to 0.1 and lower.Coatings based on a-C films have high mechanical and tribological properties, high wear resistance, biocompatibility and chemical inactivity. Such films can be used in biomedicine in case of modification surface of medical implant or prostheses [1][2][3]. Moreover, carbon films have properties of ideal lubricant and prevent the formation of wear products by friction. There are many ways to deposit such coatings with required mechanical properties: plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition