Behavior of DLC coated low-alloy steel under tribological and corrosive load: Effect of top layer and interlayer variation

► Reducing acetylene gas flow during deposition leads to hardening of the a C:H layer. ► Developed DLC coatings lead to low wear rates in contact with a ceramic counterpart. ► A multilayer architecture results in significant improvement of the fatigue strength. ► The investigated DLC coatings offer good corrosion protection for low-alloy steel.