Colour carbon coatings

In this paper, the unique properties of thin diamond-like layers are presented. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been developed as colour coatings for a range of substrates. They can be used in a wide variety of applications, including jewellery and other applications where colours need to be combined in a tough, hard-wearing, aesthetically appealing and biocompatible application. DLC films were synthesised by the radio frequency plasma activated chemical vapour deposition (RFPACVD) technique, running at 13.56 MHz. The possibility of the repeatable manufacturing of such coatings makes them a new possible material in jewellery. The coatings have been examined using a range of characterisation tools, including X-ray elemental microanalysis, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, colourimetric analysis, ellipsometry and the measurement of nanohardness and adhesion. The examinations show that the technology can be applied in many fields. An example of the jewellery application is afforded by the UK Millennium Medal, created by the well known English artist Wendy Ramshaw OBE, who worked closely with our team. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.