Tribological behavior of unlubricated sliding between a steel ball and Si-DLC deposited by ultra-high-speed coating employing an MVP method

Si concentration in the films increased linearly with an increasing TMS/hydrocarbon ratio for both hydrocarbon gases, being the determining factor for the ID/IG ratio and SiC concentration of Si-DLC. In other words, we can determine the ID/IG ratio and SiC bond concentration in Si-DLC by controlling the TMS/hydrocarbon ratio. In addition, much higher deposition speed and higher H concentration are obtained by MVP using C2H2 than CH4. These findings, or the effect of gas source on the film structure of Si-DLC by MVP, would be an important design principle in designing Si-DLC for desired film structure and hardness, and better tribological performance.