Tribological properties of nanocrystalline diamond films

Conference · Wed Jan 26 04:00:00 EST 2000

OSTI ID:751831

Erdemir, A; Fenske, G R; Kraus, A R; Gruen, D M; McCauley, T; Csencsits, R T

In this paper, the authors present the friction and wear properties of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films grown in A-fullerene (C{sub 60}) and Ar-CH{sub 4} microwave plasmas. Specifically, they address the fundamental tribological issues posed by these films during sliding against Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} counterfaces in ambient air and inert gases. Grain sizes of the films grown by the new method are very small (10--30 nm) and are much smoother (20-40 nm, root mean square) than those of films grown by the conventional H{sub 2}-CH{sub 4} microwave-assisted chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the grain boundaries of these films are very sharp and free of nondiamond phases. The microcrystalline diamond (MCD) films grown by most conventional methods consist of large grains and a rough surface finish, which can cause severe abrasion during sliding against other materials. The friction coefficients of films grown by the new method (i.e., in Ar-C{sub 60} and Ar-CH{sub 4} plasmas) are comparable to those of natural diamond, and wear damage on counterface materials is minimal. Fundamental tribological studies indicate that these films may undergo phase transformation during long-duration, high-speed and/or high-load sliding tests and that the transformation products trapped at the sliding interfaces can intermittently dominate friction and wear performance. Using results from a combination of TEM, electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), they describe the structural chemistry of the debris particles trapped at the sliding interfaces and elucidate their possible effects on friction and wear of NCD films in dry N{sub 2}. Finally, they suggest a few potential applications in which NCD films can improve performance and service lives.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 751831
• Report Number(s): ANL/ET/CP-97443
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
DIAMONDS
GRAIN BOUNDARIES
GRAIN SIZE
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
SILICON NITRIDES
SLIDING FRICTION
TRIBOLOGY
USES
WEAR RESISTANCE