Low stress thick diamond-like carbon films prepared by filtered arc deposition for tribological applications

Low stress diamond-like carbon film, 3.1 μm thick, has been deposited using the filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technique in conjunction with substrate pulse biasing. This single layer film has then been analysed for its intrinsic stress, microstructure, tribological behaviour and morphology. The tribological characterisation of the film reveals that it exhibits low coefficient of friction and wear rate of approximately 0.084 and 6.7×10−8 mm3/N-m, respectively, against sapphire. This investigation suggests that the film prepared by the above method is a suitable candidate for the fabrication of micro-electro-mechanical devices such as micro motors and actuators, where friction and wear are of major concern.