Fabrication of AlCrN coatings on WC-Co substrates with diamond films interlayer

Abstract Physical vapour deposition (PVD) AlCrN coatings were deposited on the microcrystalline diamond (MCD) and nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) coated WC-Co substrates. The structure, morphologies and frictional characterization of as-fabricated composite coatings were investigated. The surface roughness of MCD coated specimen covering with the AlCrN coating dramatically decreased to ~239 nm. The AlCrN/diamond coatings could provide excellent antifriction properties compared to the monolayer AlCrN coating, especially the value of coefficient of friction for AlCrN/NCD coated specimen decreased to ~0.23, it was much lower than that of the AlCrN coated specimen with ~0.50. The results showed that adopting this method, smooth surfaces for MCD coated samples and high antifriction performance for AlCrN coated samples were obtained simultaneously, which provided a beneficial technology for broadening the application field of AlCrN and diamond coatings.