Deposition of amorphous diamond films on different substrates by electrolysis of methanol solution

Amorphous diamond films were deposited on both (100) silicon and 316L stainless steel substrates at atmospheric pressure and low temperature (60 degrees C) with a direct current pulsed power supply using methanol/additive solution as electrolyte. The morphology and microstructure of the films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The friction and wear behavior of the films were examined on the CERT test system. The SEM observations showed that the films consisted of fine and compact ball-like grains with about 300nm in diameter. Raman spectroscopy analysis confirmed the diamond structure by the presence of strong peaks at 1333cm(-1) for both substrates. The friction coefficient of the films deposited on both substrates against WC ball was about 0.10 at ambient conditions. The active additive could play an important role not only in improving adhesive strength between the films and substrates, but also in increasing relative content of diamond phase in the films.