Effects of carbon concentration and gas pressure with hydrogen-rich gas chemistry on synthesis and characterizations of HFCVD diamond films on WC-Co substrates

The study concentrates on systematic investigations on the effects of extremely high or low carbon concentration (2%-14%) and gas pressure (800 Pa-3200 Pa) on crystal structures, grain sizes, phase compositions, surface and cross-sectional morphologies, growth rates, surface roughness, mechanical and tribological performances of various polycrystalline diamond films synthesized on cemented carbide (WC-Co) substrates with hydrogen-rich/ argon-lean gas mixture adopting hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method. The crystal structure, grain size and phase composition of various diamond films synthesized with different carbon concentration and gas pressure were analyzed, indicating that as-deposited diamond films cover microcrystalline diamond (MCD), submicrocrystalline diamond (SMCD), nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) and ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD). The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of these various polycrystalline diamond films were observed, and the growth rates of various diamond films were calculated. The three-dimensional morphologies and surface roughness were obtained. With increasing the carbon concentration and decreasing the gas pressure during the synthesis, the crystal size decreases so that diamond film with high smoothness, low surface roughness can be obtained. Subsequently, the synthesis mechanisms of MCD, SMCD, NCD and UNCD films with different carbon concentration and gas pressure under hydrogen-rich gas mixture adopting HFCVD were discussed in detail. The elastic modulus and nanohardness of different diamond films were measured quantitatively, and the film-substrate adhesion were evaluated qualitatively. Moreover, the tribological performances of various diamond films synthesized with different carbon concentration and gas pressure were studied by sliding against silicon nitride (Si3N4) ceramic balls. Results indicate that obtaining the dynamic equilibrium between sufficiently renucleation rate of diamond nuclei and effectively removal rate of non-diamond carbon phase by adjusting carbon and gas pressure under the hydrogen-rich gas chemistry can contribute to the synthesis of high-quality UNCD film.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effects of carbon concentration and gas pressure on various polycrystalline diamond films synthesized with HFCVD method. By adjusting carbon concentration and gas pressure, diamond films with different crystal structures and surface properties can be obtained. Achieving a dynamic equilibrium between renucleation rate and removal rate under hydrogen-rich gas chemistry is crucial for high-quality UNCD film synthesis.