Effect of pretreatment methods and chamber pressure on morphology, quality and adhesion of HFCVD diamond coating on cemented carbide inserts

In the present investigation, diamond coating was deposited on cemented carbide substrate by hot filament chemical vapour deposition. The effect of substrate pretreatment methods and chamber pressure on morphology, quality, and adhesion of the diamond film were studied. The carbide inserts were pretreated with acid, Murakami's solution, and Murakami's solution followed by acid, respectively. The chamber pressure was set at 6.6, 13.2, 26.4, 39.6 and 66 mbar. Deposition carried out at pressure of 26.4 and 39.6 mbar on inserts pretreated with acid exhibited uniform crystal habit and provided coating-substrate adhesion adequate for machining application. Good coating morphology was obtained when deposition was done at 6.6 mbar on carbide inserts treated with Murakami's solution. Pretreatment with Murakami's solution followed by acid and deposition at 6.6 mbar also resulted in good morphology of diamond film. Indentation (Rockwell C scale) was done on diamond-coated inserts to assess coating-substrate adhesion under three loads of 294, 588 and 980 N. The diameter of the indentation crack at the coating-substrate interface was observed under SEM. The results suggested that diamond coating deposited at medium pressure of 26.4 mbar on carbide substrate treated with acid not only exhibited best morphology but also highest coating-substrate adhesion and improved machining performance. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B. V.