R. Polini, F.Pighetti Mantini, M. Braic, M. Amar, W. Ahmed, H. Taylor, M.J. Jackson, Effects of Ti- and Zr-based interlayer coatings on hot-filament chemical vapor deposition of diamond on high-speed steel, Journal of Material Engineering and Performance, 15/2 (2006) 201-207

 Title: Effects of Ti- and Zr-based interlayer coatings on hot-filament chemical vapor deposition of diamond on high-speed steel

Abstract: A major problem with depositing diamond onto steel is high diffusion of carbon into steel at chemical vapor deposition (CVD) temperatures leading to a very low nucleation density and cementite formation. Therefore, the study of the nucleation and growth processes is timely and will yield data that can be utilized to get a better understanding of how adhesion can be improved. This work focuses on the adhesion of thin diamond films onto high speed steel previously coated with various interlayers such as ZrN, ZrC, TiC, and TiC/Ti(C,N)TiN. The role of seeding on nucleation density and the effect of diamond film thickness on stress development and adhesion has been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy (RS).

Key words: adhesion; CVD; diamond; interlayers; steel

Author: M. Braic