Heat Resistant Properties of Some Elements-Incorporated Diamond-Like Carbon Films and Their Trial Applications for Micro End Mill Coatings

Abstract

In this article, the results obtained from a study carried out on the some elements-incorporated diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are reported. All the films were deposited using plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) technique. The deposited films were annealed at 400˚C, 650˚C and 900˚C in an air atmosphere for 1 hour. The effects of adding hydrogen, silicon/oxygen and silicon/nitrogen into the DLC film on chemical composition, friction coefficient and corrosion resistance were investigated. The films coated micro end mills performance was also assessed. The results indicate that all the films showed almost constant atomic contents of C, Si, O and N until annealing at 400˚C. However, the films were completely destroyed at 650˚C with the increased Si and O contents, while the C content decreased. The incorporation of silicon/oxygen and silicon/nitrogen into the DLC exhibited lower values of friction coefficients than the hydrogenated DLC (DLC and H-DLC) before and after annealing at 400˚C, whereas all the films presented the same values of friction coefficients after annealing at 650˚C due to the completely destroy of the films. Furthermore, the incorporation of silicon/nitrogen into the DLC also exhibited better corrosion resistance and unbroken micro end mills performance on their surfaces. Thus, the incorporation of silicon/nitrogen into the DLC film can be considered beneficial in improving the micro end mills performance.