Recent developments in thin film synthesis of diamond have facilitated a host of new technical applications. These are motivated by the many attractive properties of diamond, for example high hardness, chemical inertness, transparency and heat conductivity. Unfortunately, these properties also make it difficult to fashion complex geometries. Other problems are the severely limited choice of suitable substrate materials and large surface roughness. To reduce these complications, a technology denoted replication and bodybuilding has been developed. The basic principle is to grow the diamond film onto a mold and then build a mechanical support on top of the diamond film. Then the mold is removed. Thereby, a diamond surface with the desired 3D geometry and the same surface roughness as the mold is created. Three potential applications for devices built using the replication and bodybuilding concept have been explored. Grinding tools for hard materials have proved superior to conventional technology in rate of removal as well as in resulting surface finish. Diamond surfaces have also been crafted into ultra-durable dies for injection molding of hard particle reinforced polymers. Initial testing of an abrasive diamond device, intended to make CMP processes more economical and easier to control has successfully been carried out. Diamond and diamond-like carbon is well-known for being “low-friction materials”, but are here demonstrated to actually be “high-friction materials” with the ability to disguise themselves in certain environments, most notably with the aid of water molecules. The mechanisms involved in these variations have been investigated. Using NEXAFS it is shown that high friction sliding is accompanied by changes in the material structure. These changes are induced by surface roughness as well as by strong adhesive forces. Highly hydrogenated carbon coatings, on the other hand, affording super-low friction coefficients (<0.01) under certain circumstances, will suffer an increase in friction in the presence of water.

In this work, the friction and wear behavior of three DLC coatings was evaluated in various conventional and alternative fuels as well as in commercially available formulated engine oils and additive-free synthetic oil. The first DLC has a thin top-coating of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H), the second consists of Si-doped DLC (a-C:H:Si) and the third is a W-doped multilayered structure of a-C:H and a-C:H:W. The tribological tests were performed using a ball-on-flat reciprocating rig at low contact pressures. Methods such as white light interferometry (VSI), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron spectroscopy (TEM) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA/XPS) were used for analyzing and characterizing the coatings and counter surfaces in an effort to gain an understanding of the tribological mechanisms involved.

The heart is one of the most important organs of the human body and cardiovascular diseases remain the biggest cause of deaths worldwide. Today, due to the aging of the population and the growing demand for cardiovascular implants, improving the performance of artificial surfaces of vascular prostheses is highly desired. The common material for fabricating prostheses, such as stents used to remedy narrow and weak arteries, is Fluorocarbon polymers or expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE, Gore-tex). Although these polymers are well known for chemical inertness, thermal stability and low friction, they can cause early thrombosis (forming clot) and coagulation in blood vessels and require periodic replacement. Modifying the surface properties of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) by coating with carbon-based materials may improve its blood compatibility. Carbon-based coatings have properties similar to biomedical components, such as low friction, bioinertness, high wear resistance and exceptional hardness. Plasma processing methods are commonly used for coating thin films on various materials including carbon-based components. Plasma-based processes are also widely used in the aerospace, automotive, steel and biomedical industries. For example, extending the lifetime of surgically implanted hip joints and cutting tools are biomedical and industrial applications of plasma-based material processing respectively. Plasma-assisted deposition techniques are commonly used for carbon-based coating including nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon (a-C) films. In this thesis, PTFE samples with different thickness and roughness characteristics are used as substrates and diamond-like carbon (DLC) is deposited on them by simultaneous plasma-assisted sputtering and chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Hot filament plasma and ICP (Inductively coupling plasma) are used to coat DLC on PTFE and silicon (Si) substrates under various plasma conditions. The latter is the first report on the techniques to coat DLC by ICP plasma sputtering. This new technique (ICP-sputtering) is developed to improve low deposition rate and high temperature deposition of previous method (Hot filament plasma sputtering). Advantageous of this new developed method (ICP-sputtering) are discussed and compared with the previous method in this thesis. Various amount of nitrogen is introduced to the plasma chambers and the effect of nitrogen dopant is also studied using different characterization techniques for chemical, electronic and morphological properties of coated films. sp2 and sp3 contents were also estimated in amorphous carbon (a-C) and nitrogenated amorphous carbon (a-CN) films. Characterization techniques used for in this thesis are including SEM (scanning electron microscopy), AFM (atomic force microscopy), Raman spectroscopy, XAS (x-ray absorption spectroscopy), XES (x-ray emission spectroscopy), XPS (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and XRD (x-ray diffraction).

Esta tesis presenta un estudio de la síntesis y la caracterización de carbono amorfo tipo diamante (DLC) preparado en capa delgada. Este material destaca por exhibir una alta dureza, baja fricción y buena resistencia al desgaste. Gracias a sus excelentes propiedades mecánicas y tribológicas, el DLC presenta numerosas aplicaciones como recubrimiento protector y lubricante sólido. Como ejemplos, podemos citar el recubrimiento de herramientas de corte, discos duros de ordenador y prótesis ortopédicas. Las técnicas más frecuentes para el depósito de DLC son el depósito químico en fase vapor activado por plasma (PECVD), el arco catódico, y la pulverización catódica con magnetrón.Una desventaja importante presentada por las capas de DLC es su elevado esfuerzo compresivo residual, factor que limita el grosor de las capas a unas pocas decenas de nanómetros. La superación de este grosor provoca inestabilidades en el material que conducen a problemas de adhesión e incluso a la delaminación de la capa. En la literatura se proponen varias soluciones para reducir las tensiones internas del DLC y así rebajar este esfuerzo mecánico, como por ejemplo el depósito de capas metálicas de anclaje y de estructuras repetitivas en multicapa de periodo nanométrico. El objetivo de esta tesis ha consistido en preparar diferentes estructuras de DLC y modificar sus propiedades mediante la variación de los parámetros tecnológicos de depósito. El análisis de los resultados de caracterización de las muestras nos ha proporcionado su estructura, morfología, propiedades químicas, ópticas, eléctricas y de superficie.Una parte de este trabajo trata sobre el crecimiento de DLC por la técnica de PECVD mediante una fuente pulsada-DC de alta potencia que alimenta un plasma de metano. Esta tecnología ofrece varias ventajas, como la reducción del esfuerzo intrínseco del DLC y el incremento de la velocidad de depósito, todo ello logrado utilizando una instalación más económica que las tradicionales de radiofrecuencia. Se ha hecho un estudio in-situ de los parámetros del plasma pulsado (temperatura electrónica, densidades iónica y electrónica, y potencial de plasma) medinte una sonda de Langmuir en modo de resolución temporal. De esta manera, se ha apreciado la dependencia de las propiedades de las capas con respecto a las variables fundamentales del proceso de depósito.Por otro lado, también se ha considerado la incorporación de átomos metálicos (Mo, Nb, Ti, W) en la red de carbono mediante la técnica de depósito de pulverización reactiva con magnetrón en atmósfera de argón y metano. Las capas de DLC con contenido metálico, que presentan una nanoestructura y una cristalinidad determinadas por el metal añadido y su abundancia, sufren un menor esfuerzo merced a una estructura más relajada sin que por ello se resienta en gran medida la dureza. Las propiedades tribológicas también se ven favorecidas al mostrar valores muy bajos (~0.03) de coeficiente de fricción. / THESIS SUMMARY:This thesis reports the study of the synthesis and characterisation of thin films of diamond-like carbon (DLC). This material exhibits high hardness, low friction and low wear rate. Due to its excellent mehanical and tribological properties, the DLC shows several applications as protective coating and solid lubricant. We can mention for instance coatings addressed to cutting tools, hard-disk drives and orthopedic implants. DLC films are commonly deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), cathodic arc, and magnetron sputtering.An important drawback of DLC films is their high residual compressive stress, which limits film thickness to a few tens of nanometers. Strong instabilities of the material are promoted by the overcoming of this thickness, leading to adhesion problems and even to film delamination. Some of the solutions proposed in the literature consist on the deposition of metallic buffer layers and multilayer structures of nanometric period. The aim of this thesis consisted on the preparation of different structures of DLC and the tailoring of their properties by varying the technological parameters of deposition. The analysis of the characterisation results of the samples provided us their structure, morphology, and chemical, optical and electrical properties.A part of this work deals with the growth of DLC by means of PECVD technique using a pulsed-DC power supplier that drives a methane plasma. This technology provides several advantages, as for example the reduction of the intrinsic stress of DLC and the increase of the deposition rate, being this achieved by making use of an installation more cost-effective than the employed for radiofrequency. The parameters of the pulsed plasma (electron temperature, ion and electron densities, and plasma potential) have been studied by means of a Langmuir probe in time-resolution mode. Thus, the film properties have been related to fundamental variables of the deposition process.On the other hand, we have also considered the incorporation of metal atoms (Mo, Nb, Ti, W) within the carbon network by means of reactive magnetron sputtering in an argon and methane mixture. The metal-containing DLC films, which present a nanostructure and crystallinity determined by the added metal and its abundance, suffer a lower stress thanks to a more relaxed structure without reducing significatively the hardness. The low values of the friction coefficient (~0.03) are indicative of the improvement of the tribological properties.

Filmes de Carbono Tipo Diamante (DLC) foram preparados por técnica de eletrodeposição sobre ligas de alumínio AA2024-T3 utilizando etanol. A eletrólise do etanol ocorreu sob tensão constante de 1200 V ou 800 V, feita por 3, 8 e 24 h. Os filmes DLC foram caracterizados por espectroscopia Raman, espectroscopia de fotoemissão de raios X (XPS), microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica (EIS). Os filmes DLC eletrodepositados são compostos por grãos pequenos e compactos e parecem ser uniformes, suaves e homogêneos com uma estrutura influenciada pelo tempo e tensão aplicada. Os espectros XPS dos filmes preparados indicaram que o carbono e o oxigênio são os principais constituintes. Os espectros Raman dos filmes mostraram a presença de dois picos localizados em 1373 e 1574 cm-1, relativos aos picos D e G, com proporção das alturas dos picos ID/IG de 0,71, o que confirmaram a formação do filme DLC. Esses espectros confirmaram a natureza amorfa de todos os filmes DLC depositados. O comportamento eletroquímico mostra uma tendência de bloqueio dos poros com aumento do tempo de imersão (1h até 30 dias) em solução de NaCl 0,05 molL-1 na película DLC (eletrodepositada a 1200V em 24 horas), o que mostra uma pseudoresistência devido aos produtos de corrosão nos poros do filme DLC. / Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared by electrodeposition technique on AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy in ethanol. Electrolysis of ethanol under constant voltage of 1200 V or 800 V is made by 3, 8 and 24 h. The DLC films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (MEV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrodeposited DLC films composed of small and compact grains and seem to be uniform, smooth and homogeneous with a structure influenced by the time and voltage applied. The XPS spectra of the prepared films indicated that carbon and oxygen are their main composition. Raman spectra of films showed the presence of two peaks located at 1373 and 1574 cm -1related to the D and G peaks, and they have the proportion of peak heights ID/IG equal to 0,71, which confirmed the formation of DLC film. These spectra confirmed the amorphous nature of all deposited DLC films. The electrochemical behavior shows a character of pores blockage with increase of immersion time (1h until 30 days) in 0,05 molL-1 NaCl solution of DLC film (electrodeposited at 1200 V by 24 hours) which shows a pseudo resistance due to corrosion products into pores of DLC film.

Neste trabalho é apresentado o estudo teórico-experimental a respeito das propriedades piezoresistivas de dois tipos de materiais com estrutura amorfa. O primeiro material estudado é o carbono semelhante ao diamante e o segundo é o óxido de estanho dopado com índio. O estudo compreende o levantamento bibliográfico sobre os materiais, projeto teórico e prático de estruturas individuais de testes e piezoresistores configurados em ponte completa, além da realização das caracterizações elétricas, mecânicas e térmicas de acordo com um arranjo experimental proposto. As caracterizações experimentais foram implementadas usando a técnica de flexão de uma viga engastada e a teoria das pequenas deflexões. Os diferentes materiais caracterizados e analisados apresentaram o efeito piezoresistivo e um sinal de sensibilidade mecânica condizente com as características esperadas para estes filmes. Ambos os filmes respondem as variações da temperatura de forma linear e apresentam uma direção de dependência com a temperatura. Os filmes de carbono amorfo hidrogenado livre de dopantes apresentam curvas de corrente e tensão características indicando um mecânismo de condução elétrica complexo devido a sua diversidade de microestruturas e relacionado aos parâmetros de processos de deposição. Os filmes com nitrogênio são mais estáveis termicamente com coeficientes da ordem de - 4900 ppm/ºC. Os resultados encontrados indicam a existência de dois tipos de portadores de cargas responsáveis pela mobilidade média, resistividade e efeito piezoresistivo. Os filmes de óxido de estanho dopado com índio livre e com 5 % e 10 % de oxigênio no plasma apresentam características de diminuição da resistência elétrica com o esforço mecânico e exibem efeitos de piezoresistividade na faixa de - 12 a - 23. Amostras destes filmes com oxigênio apresentaram um fator de sensibilidade mecânica muito baixa e são menos estáveis termicamente que as amostras livres de oxigênio. Os filmes estudados podem ser usados em aplicações envolvendo extensiometria ou mesmo em sensores de pressão piezoresistivos após adequação do processo de deposição e de recozimentos térmicos. / This tesis presents the piezoresistivity theoretical and experimental study for two materials with amorphous structure. The first material is the Diamond Like Carbon and the other is the Indium Tin Oxide. The work includes the bibliographic study, theoretical and practical design of structures for testing individual and piezoresistors configured in bridge, in addition to the completion of the characterizations electrical, mechanical and thermal according to a proposed experimental arrangement. The experimental characterizations have been implemented using the technique of cantilever and the theory of small deflections. The different materials analyzed showed the piezoresistive effect with some order of magnitude and a sign of sensitivity to mechanical stress of tension consistent with the characteristics expected for these types of films. Both films respond to changes in temperature in a very linear and have a direction of dependency with the temperature according to the literature. The films of free doping have curves of current and voltage characteristics for this type of material indicating a mechanism of electric conduction very complex because of its diversity of microstructures and processes related to the parameters of the deposition and films with nitrogen are more thermally stable with coefficients of order of - 4900 ppm/ºC. The results indicate the existence of two types of charge carriers responsible for the average mobility and hence the resistivity and the piezoresistive effect. The films of indium tin oxide free and with some oxygen content in plasma presents characteristics of decreased electrical resistance to mechanical stress and exhibit effects of piezoresistive in the range of - 12 to - 23. Samples of these films with oxygen showed a factor of very low mechanical sensitivity and are less stables to thermal effect the samples free of oxygen. The films studied can be used in certain applications such strain gauges or even in piezoresistive pressure sensors, after adequate process of deposition and thermal annealing.

Filmes de Carbono Tipo Diamante (DLC) foram preparados por técnica de eletrodeposição sobre ligas de alumínio AA2024-T3 utilizando etanol. A eletrólise do etanol ocorreu sob tensão constante de 1200 V ou 800 V, feita por 3, 8 e 24 h. Os filmes DLC foram caracterizados por espectroscopia Raman, espectroscopia de fotoemissão de raios X (XPS), microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica (EIS). Os filmes DLC eletrodepositados são compostos por grãos pequenos e compactos e parecem ser uniformes, suaves e homogêneos com uma estrutura influenciada pelo tempo e tensão aplicada. Os espectros XPS dos filmes preparados indicaram que o carbono e o oxigênio são os principais constituintes. Os espectros Raman dos filmes mostraram a presença de dois picos localizados em 1373 e 1574 cm-1, relativos aos picos D e G, com proporção das alturas dos picos ID/IG de 0,71, o que confirmaram a formação do filme DLC. Esses espectros confirmaram a natureza amorfa de todos os filmes DLC depositados. O comportamento eletroquímico mostra uma tendência de bloqueio dos poros com aumento do tempo de imersão (1h até 30 dias) em solução de NaCl 0,05 molL-1 na película DLC (eletrodepositada a 1200V em 24 horas), o que mostra uma pseudoresistência devido aos produtos de corrosão nos poros do filme DLC. / Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared by electrodeposition technique on AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy in ethanol. Electrolysis of ethanol under constant voltage of 1200 V or 800 V is made by 3, 8 and 24 h. The DLC films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (MEV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrodeposited DLC films composed of small and compact grains and seem to be uniform, smooth and homogeneous with a structure influenced by the time and voltage applied. The XPS spectra of the prepared films indicated that carbon and oxygen are their main composition. Raman spectra of films showed the presence of two peaks located at 1373 and 1574 cm -1related to the D and G peaks, and they have the proportion of peak heights ID/IG equal to 0,71, which confirmed the formation of DLC film. These spectra confirmed the amorphous nature of all deposited DLC films. The electrochemical behavior shows a character of pores blockage with increase of immersion time (1h until 30 days) in 0,05 molL-1 NaCl solution of DLC film (electrodeposited at 1200 V by 24 hours) which shows a pseudo resistance due to corrosion products into pores of DLC film.

Filmes de Carbono Tipo Diamante (DLC) foram preparados por técnica de eletrodeposição sobre ligas de alumínio AA2024-T3 utilizando etanol. A eletrólise do etanol ocorreu sob tensão constante de 1200 V ou 800 V, feita por 3, 8 e 24 h. Os filmes DLC foram caracterizados por espectroscopia Raman, espectroscopia de fotoemissão de raios X (XPS), microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica (EIS). Os filmes DLC eletrodepositados são compostos por grãos pequenos e compactos e parecem ser uniformes, suaves e homogêneos com uma estrutura influenciada pelo tempo e tensão aplicada. Os espectros XPS dos filmes preparados indicaram que o carbono e o oxigênio são os principais constituintes. Os espectros Raman dos filmes mostraram a presença de dois picos localizados em 1373 e 1574 cm-1, relativos aos picos D e G, com proporção das alturas dos picos ID/IG de 0,71, o que confirmaram a formação do filme DLC. Esses espectros confirmaram a natureza amorfa de todos os filmes DLC depositados. O comportamento eletroquímico mostra uma tendência de bloqueio dos poros com aumento do tempo de imersão (1h até 30 dias) em solução de NaCl 0,05 molL-1 na película DLC (eletrodepositada a 1200V em 24 horas), o que mostra uma pseudoresistência devido aos produtos de corrosão nos poros do filme DLC. / Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared by electrodeposition technique on AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy in ethanol. Electrolysis of ethanol under constant voltage of 1200 V or 800 V is made by 3, 8 and 24 h. The DLC films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (MEV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrodeposited DLC films composed of small and compact grains and seem to be uniform, smooth and homogeneous with a structure influenced by the time and voltage applied. The XPS spectra of the prepared films indicated that carbon and oxygen are their main composition. Raman spectra of films showed the presence of two peaks located at 1373 and 1574 cm -1related to the D and G peaks, and they have the proportion of peak heights ID/IG equal to 0,71, which confirmed the formation of DLC film. These spectra confirmed the amorphous nature of all deposited DLC films. The electrochemical behavior shows a character of pores blockage with increase of immersion time (1h until 30 days) in 0,05 molL-1 NaCl solution of DLC film (electrodeposited at 1200 V by 24 hours) which shows a pseudo resistance due to corrosion products into pores of DLC film.

The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on surface treatments, their evaluation from the point of view visual properties, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and analysis of thin layers prepared by plasma polymerization. The experimental part of the thesis deals with surface treatment of stainless steel AISI 304. Thin layers of pp-HMDSO (plasma-polymer) and of DLC are deposited on the steel´s surface for the purpose of preparing transparent layer, which protect steel´s surface against of making finger prints visible. As an objective method is chosen an immersion test in artificial sweat solution according to standard ČSN EN ISO 105-E04. Evaluation of the test is measured by a gloss-meter and by a colorimeter. Prepared layers are identificated by FTIR method.

Diplomová práce nastiňuje problémy spojené s výrobou a analýzou tenkých vrstev DLC:H. Tyto vrstvy jsou ve středu zájmu mnoha vědeckých pracovníků již po několik desetiletí. V současné době existuje mnoho technik pro přípravu a analýzu. Příprava DLC vrstev má zásadní vliv na jejich vlastnosti a možnosti použití. Je zde mnoho kritérií jak vrstvy posuzovat. V této práci jsou studovány vlastnosti DLC:H vrstev připravených na substrát krystalického křemíku metodou RF-PECVD a následně jsou studovány mechanické, tribologické a optické vlastnosti. Jsou zde využity techniky jako XPS, Ramanova spektroskopie, reflektometrie, měření tvrdosti a adheze. Část práce se zabývá modelováním DLC z prvních principů. Pro tento účel je využito prvoprincipiálního programu Abinit který je šířen pod GPL. Je studována otázka přípravy vstupních dat s ohledem na konvergenci výsledků. Pozornost je také věnována výpočtu vibračních spekter ve středu Brillouinovy zóny ( bod) a celkové hustotě elektronových stavů clusteru DLC v supercele tvaru krychle. Tyto výsledky mohou být porovnány s experimentálně získanými daty z Ramanovy spektroskopie, respektive z XPS spektra valenčního pásu