Deposition and some properties of carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposites for tribological application

Ti–C:H, W–C:H and Si–C:H (generally X–C:H) films were deposited by pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering in an Ar/C2H2 atmosphere. The investigations have revealed that Ti–C:H and W–C:H films with titanium content >49.2 at.% and tungsten >58.7 at.%, respectively, have a nanocrystalline structure. Ti–C:H films with titanium content below 41.3 at.%, and W–C:H films with tungsten content below 51.9 at.% have the nanocomposite structure of a TiC/a-C:H or WC/a-C:H type, i.e. composed of a carbide phase and an a-C:H amorphous matrix. Si–C:H films within the whole range of silicon content are amorphous in character. High hardness (Hp>41 GPa) that was probably connected with the nanocomposite effect of hardening was observed, especially for TiC/a-C:H films with titanium content of 41.3 at.%. If an X-component concentration is 4–6 at.%, all films are amorphous in character and show a very low friction coefficient (f<0.06 for Ti–C:H and Si–C:H, f<0.1 for W–C:H) and low wear rate (kvc<10−7 mm3 N−1 m−1).