Design of Deterministic Microstructures as Substrate Pre-Treatment for CVD Diamond Coating

The coating of highly stressed components with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond can extend their lifetime. In particular, the combination of steel substrates with diamond layers would find many applications in industrial production. However, there are some challenges, for example, the high mismatch in the thermal expansion between steel and diamond, which commonly leads to the delamination of the coating. Thus, a pre-treatment of the substrate surface is needed. Particle blasting has been established in some studies as a suitable process. However, apart from particle residues in the surface of the substrate, these surfaces have a stochastic character, which limits their reproducibility and modification options. This paper presents some instructions for the recording and derivation of defined properties of those surfaces. The conversion of characteristic surface features into quantitative process parameters could serve as the foundation for the manufacturing of deterministic microstructures, especially those produced by ultrasonic vibration superimposed machining. This should increase the reproducibility and the possibilities of the modification with regard to the structural shaping of the functional surface. The design was developed using both a kinematic surface simulation tool as well as a finite elements analysis for the cooling process of the coating–substrate–composite. A high accordance with real finished surfaces was achieved.