Study of DLC film growth inside of long tubes by pulsed-DC PECVD method

Abstract

Depositions of DLC film (Diamond-Like Carbon) via PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) on metallic surface has been matter of many fundamental investigations because it turns out to be excellent for the improvement of mechanical, tribological, and chemical properties of their surface. Due to its importance and great potential for several applications, deposition of DLC films have been issue of much research and development activities in the National Institute for Special Search, especially for applications in space and industrial sectors. Although much has been done, the scientific community is still seeking new applications of DLC film. Currently, deposition of DLC film is being applied to the internal treatment of metal tube to enhance the resistance against the wear, corrosion and fouling. Despite great advances made in this area of research, the available treatments are restricted to tube of small diameter (some cm). This is due to the need of a large vacuum chamber than the tube itself, making hard their applications for tubes of size large from the technical viewpoint as economic. With this proposal, the goal is to build a system capable of making the tube as the deposition chamber itself. Overcoming this technical restriction will allow that tubes of industrial-sized can be coated with DLC films of high hardness and low friction coefficient. As an additional part of this project, a theoretical and experimental study of deposition process of DLC films inside the tube will be performed taking into account to optimize the electrical discharge parameters. In these conditions, characterization techniques (Nano-indentation, Tribology, Scratch, SEM, AFM, XPS, RAMAN, XRD, Corrosion) that allow determine the value of hardness, friction coefficient, wear, adhesion, type of chemical bond, etc. will be part of this study. (AU)