Ion beam microprobe analysis for friction-induced material transfer processes in ta-C/steel and ta-C/brass pairs

The application of Ion Beam Analysis with a focussed ion beam to the field of tribology, especially solid lubricant coatings that do not need liquid lubricants, is described. As model systems, tetrahedrally-amorphous carbon coatings (ta-C) after friction contact with 100Cr6 steel in high vacuum and with brass in ambient atmosphere were selected. With the appropriate combination of He and H ion beams and techniques like Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Particle Induced X-ray Emission, detailed information was obtained about the laterally- and depth-resolved element composition in the wear tracks and counter body wear scars, leading to insights in the friction induced transformation processes between a solid coating and a counter body, including material loss of the coating and material transfer between the coating and counter body that are correlated with the friction experiments.