• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.125-131
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• 2016

In recent years, thick ta-C coating has attracted considerable interest owing to its existing and potential commercial importance in applications such as automobile accessories, drills, and gears. The thickness of the ta-C coating is an important parameter in these applications. However, the biggest problems are achieving efficient coating and uniformity over a large area with high-speed deposition. Feasibility is confirmed for the ta-C coating thickness of up to 9.0 µm (coating speed: 3.0 µm/h, fixed substrate) using a single FCVA cathode. The thickness was determined using multiple coating cycles that were controlled using substrate temperature and residual stresses. In the present research, we have designed a coating system using FCVA plasma and produced enhanced thick ta-C coating. The system uses a specialized magnetic field configuration with stabilized DC arc plasma discharge during deposition. To achieve quality that is acceptable for use in automobile accessories, the magnetic field, T-type filters, and 10 pieces of a multi-cathode are used to demonstrate the deposition of the thick ta-C coating. The results of coating performance indicate that uniformity is ±7.6 , deposited area is 400 mm, and the thickness of the ta-C coating is up to 5.0 µm (coating speed: 0.3 µm/h, revolution and rotation). The hardness of the coating ranges from 30 to 59 GPa, and the adhesion strength level (HF1) ranges from 20 to 60 N, depending on the ta-C coating.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.368-376
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• 2023

Dental Ni-Ti files must ensure stability and resistance to fatigue fracture. DLC and ta-C were coated to remove defects on the surface and ensure stability, and the surface characteristics were investigated. When coated with DLC, it was black, and in case of ta-C coating, it was blue-black. Scratches, which are defects caused by mechanical processing, were formed on the surface of the un-coated Ni-Ti file from the end of the file along the direction of processing, with the Pro-file appearing in the vertical direction and the K-file appearing in the file direction. Scratches were reduced on the coated surface, and the surface roughness was greatly reduced after coating compared to before coating. The un-coated Ni-Ti file had the lowest hardness, the DLC-coated file had the highest hardness, and ta-C showed relatively high hardness. The elastic modulus of the DLC coating film was high, and the ta-C elastic modulus was low. The adhesion of the DLC coating film tended to be higher than that of ta-C, and the wear loss amount of DLC coating of taC was lower. The corrosion potential of the ta-C coating increased significantly, and the corrosion current density decreased.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2019

We investigated the application of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coatings to fabricate a glass lens manufactured using a glass molding process (GMP). In this work, ta-C coatings with different thickness (50, 100, 150 and 200 nm) were deposited on a tungsten carbide (WC-Co) mold using the X-bend filter of a filtered cathode vacuum arc. The effects of thickness on mechanical and tribological properties of the coating were studied. These ta-C coatings were characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, nano-indentation measurements, Raman spectrometry, Rockwell-C tests, scratch tests and ball on disc tribometer tests. The nano-indentation measurements showed that hardness increased with an increase in coating thickness. In addition, the G-peak position in the Raman spectra analysis was right shifted from 1520 to $1586cm^{-1}$, indicating that the $sp^3$ content increased with increasing thickness of ta-C coatings. The scratch test showed that, compared to other coatings, the 100-nm-thick ta-C coating displayed excellent adhesion strength without delamination. The friction test was carried out in a nitrogen environment using a ball-on-disk tribometer. The 100-nm-thick ta-C coating showed a low friction coefficient of 0.078. When this coating was applied to a GMP, the life time, i.e., shot counts, dramatically increased up to 2,500 counts, in comparison with Ir-Re coating.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.360-368
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• 2020

Wear resistance of cutting tools is one of the most important requirements in terms of the durability of cutting tool itself as well as the machining accuracy of the workpiece. Generally, tungsten carbide ball end mills have been processed with hard coatings for high durability and wear resistance such as diamond coating and tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta-C) coating. In this study, we developed multilayer ta-C coatings whose wear resistance is comparable to that of diamond coating. First, we prepared single layer ta-C coatings according to the substrate bias voltage and Ar gas flow, and the surface microstructure, raman characteristics, hardness and wear characteristics were evaluated. Then, considering the hardness and wear resistance of the single layer ta-C, we fabricated multilayer coatings consisting of hard and soft layers. As a result, it was confirmed that the wear resistance of the multilayer ta-C coating with hardness of 51 GPa, and elastic recovery rate of 85% improved to 97% compared to that of the diamond coated ball end mill.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.144.2-144.2
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• 2016

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have been widely applied to the mechanical components, cutting tools due to properties of high hardness and wear resistance. Among them, hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) coatings are well-known for their low friction properties, stable production of thin and thick film, they were reported to be easily worn away under high temperature. Non-hydrogenated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) is an ideal for industrial applicability due to good thermal stability from high $sp^3$-bonding fraction ranging from 70 to 80 %. However, the large compressive stress of ta-C coating limits to apply thick ta-C coating. In this study, the thick ta-C coating was deposited onto Inconel alloy disk by the FCVA technique. The thickness of the ta-C coating was about $3.5{\mu}m$. The tribological behaviors of ta-C coated disks sliding against $Si_3N_4$ balls were examined under elevated temperature divided into 23, 100, 200 and $300^{\circ}C$. The range of temperature was setting up until peel off observed. The experimental results showed that the friction coefficient was decreased from 0.14 to 0.05 with increasing temperature up to $200^{\circ}C$. At $300^{\circ}C$, the friction coefficient was dramatically increased over 5,000 cycles and then delaminated. These phenomenon was summarized two kinds of reasons: (1) Thermal degradation and (2) graphitization of ta-C coating. At first, the reason of thermal degradation was demonstrated by wear rate calculation. The wear rate of ta-C coatings showed an increasing trend with elevated temperature. For investigation of relationship between hardness and graphitization, thick ta-C coatings(2, 3 and $5{\mu}m$) were additionally deposited. As the thickness of ta-C coating was increased, hardness decreased from 58 to 49 GPa, which means that graphitization was accelerated. Therefore, now we are trying to increase $sp^3$ fraction of ta-C coating and control the coating parameters for thermal stability of thick ta-C at high temperatures.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.255-260
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• 2022

This research presents tetrahedral amorphous (ta-C) coating on the artificial tooth for improving the durability and functionality (esthtics, foreign body of tooth) by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA). A differentiated coating method is required for a ta-C coating on polymer owing to the low melting point of the polymer, inter-facial adhesion, low friction, and non-conductivity. Herein, ta-C coating is applied below 50℃, and the potential difference of the carbon plasma drawn to the substrate was controlled by applying a positive duct bias voltage without using a substrate bias voltage. Consequently, the ta-C coating with a thickness of 70nm using the duct bias condition of 20V with the highest plasma intensity satisfies the esthetics of the artificial tooth and had a 5B level of inter-facial adhesion. In addition, the composite hardness of ta-C/polymer is 380 MPa, and correlations with esthetics, sp³ bonding, and mechanical properties. The friction coefficient (CoF) of the ta-C coating in a water-lubricated environment is 0.07, showing a six-fold reduction in CoF compared with that of a polymer.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.362-368
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• 2019

In this study, mechanical and tribological properties were investigated by varying the process temperature (50, 100, 125 and 150℃) to reduce internal stress. The internal stress reduction by thermal dissociation ta-C coating film with increasing temperature is confirmed through the curvature radius of the ta-C coating according to the temperature of the SUS plate. As the coating temperature increased, the mechanical properties (hardness, modulus, toughness) deteriorated, which is in agreement with the Raman analysis results. As the temperature increased, the sp² phase ratio increased owing to the dissociation of the sp³ phase. The friction and wear properties are related to the process temperature during ta-C coating. Low friction and wear properties are observed in high hardness samples manufactured at 50℃, and wear resistance properties decreased with increasing temperature. The contact area is expected to increase owing to the decrease of hardness(72 GPa to 39 GPa) and fracture toughness with increasing temperature which accelerated wear because of the debris generated. It was confirmed that at process temperature of over than 100℃, the bond structure of the carbon film changed, and the effect of excellent internal stress was reduced. However, the wear resistance simultaneously decreased owing to the reduction in fracture toughness. Therefore, in order to increase industrial utilization, optimum temperature conditions that reduce internal stress and retain mechanical properties.

• Journal of Ceramic Processing Research
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.519-524
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• 2018

Carbon/carbon composites (C/C) have been widely studied in the aerospace field because of their excellent thermal shock resistance and specific strength at high temperature. However, they have the problems that is easily oxidized and deteriorated under atmospheric environment. In order to overcome these shortcomings, the CVD coating of ultra-high-temperature ceramics to C/C has become an important technical issue. In this study, thermodynamic calculations were performed to TaC CVD coating on C/C by FactSage 6.2 program. The Ta-C phase diagrams were constructed with the results of thermodynamic calculations in the Ta-C-H-Cl system. Based on the Ta-C phase diagram, the experimental conditions were designed to confirm the deposition of various phases such as TaC single phase, TaC + C and $TaC+Ta_2C$ by varying the composition of Ta/C ratio. The deposited films were found to be in good agreement with the predicted phases.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.241-246
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• 2018

This research addresses the improvement of tribo-systems, specifically regarding the reduction of friction and wear through tribo-coupling between tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) with different types of counterpart materials, namely bearing steel (SUJ2), tungsten carbide (WC), stainless steel (SUS304), and alumina ($Al_2O_3$). A second variable in this project is the utilization of different values of duct bias voltage in the deposition of the ta-C coating - 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 V. The results of this research are expected to determine the optimum duct bias and best counter materials associated with ta-C to produce the lowest friction and wear. Results obtained reveal that the tribo-couple between the ta-C coating and SUJ2 balls produces the lowest friction coefficient and wear rate. In terms of duct bias changes, deposition using 5 V produces the most optimum tribological behavior with lowest friction and wear on the tribo-system. In contrast, the tribo-couple between ta-C with a WC ball causes penetration through the coating surface layer and hence high surface delamination. This study demonstrates that the most effective ta-C coating duct bias is 5 V associated with SUJ2 counter material to produce the lowest friction and wear.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.274-280
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• 2022

There is a problem that semiconductor probe pin has a short lifespan. In order to solve this problem, Ti having excellent conductivity was doped to tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) having excellent hardness and abrasion resistance. This experiment was planned through the Taguchi robust design to determine the effect of the control factor of the ta-C:Ti coating film. The effect and contribution of control factors such as Unbalanced Magnetron Sputter(UBM) discharge current, arc discharge current, temperature, and bias voltage on ta-C:Ti characteristics were analyzed from the perspective of electrical and mechanical characteristics. The UBM discharge current was set to 4, 6, and 8 A. The main control factor of thickness and resistance is the UBM discharge current, and the thickness increased and the resistance decreased as the current increased. The decrease in resistance is due to the increase in the Ti content of the ta-C:Ti coating film. The arc discharge current was set to 60, 80, and 100 A. The main control factor of hardness and wear is the arc discharge current, and as the current rises, the hardness increases and the wear area decreases. This is due to the increased ta-C content of the ta-C:Ti coating film. Since resistance and wear are important for Probe Pin, the optimal level is set from the perspective of resistance and wear and a confirmation experiment is conducted.