Residual stresses of diamond and diamondlike carbon films

This paper evaluated the internal stresses of different diamond and diamondlike carbon DLC coatings. For the diamond coatings, the stresses were determined using micro-Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction XRD , while the stresses of DLC films were determined with bent plate method. The internal stress was related to the structural properties of the coatings. Direct current plasma jet, combustion flame, and microwave chemical-vapor deposition processes were used to prepare the diamond coatings on the tungsten carbide or molybdenum substrates, while the DLC films were deposited on the silicon wafers with filtered cathodic vacuum arc process. From the Raman spectra of the diamond coatings, the compressive internal stresses were determined, which were related to the microstructure of the coatings. The results from XRD were comparable with those obtained from micro-Raman spectroscopy. Higher compressive residual stresses in the DLC films were noticed, which were also related to their chemical bonding nature as well as their microstructures. © 2005 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2071451