Tribological behaviour and internal stress of diamond coating deposited with a stationary d.c. plasma jet

A diamond coating was produced by a stationary d.c. plasma jet in a confined circular area. Using scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, laser profilometry and Raman spectroscopy, it was found that the diamond coated area is inhomogeneous with respect to morphology, purity, thickness, and internal stress. Surrounding the diamond coated central area, an amorphous carbon rich area was identified. The morphologically distinct regions were evaluated separately in a fretting wear test against a corundum counterbody. The frictional behaviour was observed to be dependent on the morphology and structure of the coating and the diamond crystal size and orientation in the diamond coated area. No evidence of any fretting wear damage was found in the diamond coated area, whereas a lot of fretting induced scratches were observed in the amorphous carbon rich area. The presence of wear debris was clearly observed in the fretting contacts both inside and outside the diamond coated area.