Laser processing of diamond-like carbon-metal composites

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a hydrogen-free amorphous material that contains a large fraction of sp3-hybridized carbon atoms. DLC exhibits hardness, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance properties close to those of diamond. Unfortunately, DLC films contain a large amount of compressive stresses and exhibit poor adhesion to many metal substrates. We have adopted a novel pulsed laser deposition process to incorporate metal atoms into diamond-like carbon films. Visible Raman spectroscopy data suggest that DLC-metal composite films possess less internal compressive stress than as-prepared DLC films. DLC-metal composite films have several potential applications, including use in machine tools and medical prostheses.