CO2 laser coating of nanodiamond on aluminum using an annular beam

Laser coating of nanodiamond (ND) on aluminum alloy A319 substrate was investigated using a diffraction-free ring beam. A 1000 W continuous wave CO2 laser in the ring beam configuration heated the 25–35 μm thick electrostatically sprayed ND powder layers on aluminum surface, melted a very thin layer (10 μm) of aluminum in a controlled fashion and caused phase transition of ND to form 50–60 μm thick ND/diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating. Significant improvements in friction, wear resistance and surface finish were observed in the ring beam method over the traditional Gaussian beam method suggesting that these thick (50–60 μm) ND/DLC laser coatings can outperform the currently used thin (<4 μm) chemically vapor deposited DLC coatings for aluminum parts in automobiles.