Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 47:919–922
DOI 10.1007/s00170-009-2131-7
SPECIAL ISSUE - ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Influence of grain size on the wear behavior of CVD
diamond coatings in micro-EDM
Eckart Uhlmann & Stefan Rosiwal &
Katharina Bayerlein & Markus Röhner
Received: 10 March 2009 / Accepted: 19 May 2009 / Published online: 1 June 2009
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2009
Abstract In order to reduce wear and therewith enhance
the microelectrical discharge machining (µ-EDM) results, a
coated electrode was used. The paper presents the results of
investigations into the influence of grain size of the boron-
doped CVD diamond coating on the wear behavior in
microsinking EDM. Experimental investigations show that
nanocrystalline coatings exhibited smaller discharge craters
compared to those for microcrystalline diamond coatings,
and microcrystalline coating showed melted material
around the discharge crater. The finding will be subjected
to further investigations.
Keywords Boron-doped CVD diamond .
Microsinking EDM . Tool electrode materials
1 Introduction
In microelectrical discharge machining (µ-EDM), dis-
charge energies of less than We=100µJ per single
discharge are applied to manufacture micro and minia-
ture parts and structures [1–3]. Generators of modern µ-
EDM machine tools can produce impulses with discharge
E. Uhlmann : M. Röhner (*)
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design
Technology,
Pascalstrasse 8–9,
10587 Berlin, Germany
e-mail: Markus.Roehner@ipk.fraunhofer.de
S. Rosiwal : K. Bayerlein
Institute for Material Science and Technology of Metals,
University Erlangen–Nürnberg,
Martensstrasse 5,
91058 Erlangen, Germany
durations as low as ti=40 ns at discharge currents of
ie=100 mA to obtain discharge energies of We=0.1µJ.
Because of the short pulse durations, the tool electrode is
usually charged as cathode to reduce electrode wear.
Today, mainly high wear resistant composite materials like
tungsten copper or cemented carbide are preferred as tool
electrode materials in microsinking EDM. Nevertheless,
compared to conventional EDM, the relative wear (the
ratio of the electrode wear to the material removal rate)
can be more than 30%, especially when relaxation
generators are used. To reduce the wear of the tool
electrode and ensure efficient material removal during
the µ-EDM process, boron-doped CVD diamond coatings
can be applied. This technique is especially suited to
large-area microstructured tool electrodes which can be
easily machined by cutting technologies such as micro-
milling. The influence of various coating materials on the
process behavior in microsinking EDM operations has
been reported in a previous publication [4]. In this paper,
further experimental investigations on the influence of the
microstructure of boron-doped CVD diamond on the wear
behavior in microsinking EDM were carried out.
2 Influence of the coating process
The material specifications of boron-doped CVD dia-
mond coatings are mainly influenced by the coating
process itself. The applied thin-film coatings were
processed at the Institute for Material Science and
Technology of Metals (WTM), Erlangen, Germany,
using hot-filament chemical vapor deposition. The
microstructural specifications of the coating, such as
grain size, boron concentration, graphite concentration,
and residual stresses, can be influenced by process
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parameters such as the pressure, the temperature, and
the methane and boron concentrations in the vapor.
Figure 1 shows surfaces of microcrystalline and nano-
crystalline boron-doped CVD diamond coatings on a
tungsten substrate.
The grain size of the coating can be influenced by
varying the temperature of the filaments, the methane
concentration in the gas atmosphere, and the substrate
temperature. By varying the temperature of the filaments,
the number of hydrogen radicals can be altered. The
methane concentration in the gas atmosphere influences
the growth rate of the diamond coating, a methane
concentration of 1% supporting a low growth rate, which
leads to a microcrystalline microstructure. An increase in
the methane concentration to 2% supports the nucleation of
new diamond crystallites, which in turn leads to a nano-
crystalline microstructure. High process pressures of more
than 20 mbar support the growth of a coarse diamond
microstructure and a boron inclusion within the diamond
grid, whereas lower process pressures of 10 mbar lead to a
fine diamond microstructure with boron at the boundary of
the grains.
3 Raman spectroscopy
Moreover, a variation of process parameters affects
other microstructural properties, aside from the crystal-
lite grain size. The quality of the diamond coating
depends on the ratio of sp2- and sp3-bonded parts: the
residual stresses can be examined using Raman spectros-
copy. Figure 2 shows the results of the Raman spectros-
copy of microcrystalline and nanocrystalline CVD
diamond coatings.
A pure diamond with sp3 hybrid bonding shows a
peak for residual stress-free phonon oscillation at
1,332 cm−1, whereas a graphitic sp2 hybrid connection
shows multiple overlapping peaks at greater wavelengths.
The spectrum of the microcrystalline diamond coating in
Figure 2 shows an obvious peak at 1,337 cm−1. The shift
Fig. 1 Microcrystalline
(Ø>1µm) and nanocrystalline
(Ø<500 nm) CVD coatings on a
tungsten substrate
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 47:919–922
of the peak to a slightly greater value is assumed to be due
to residual stresses within the coating material. The
diamond quality can be determined from the ratio between
the sp3 and sp2 peak areas. The microcrystalline coating
showed a diamond quality of almost 98%. The spectrum
of the nanocrystalline diamond coating shows two peaks
at 1,346 and 1,580 cm−1, which is assumed to be due to a
greater portion of sp2 bondings at the grain boundaries.
The diamond peak is overlapped by the broad peak at
1,346 cm−1. This Raman spectrum is typical for nano-
crystalline diamond surfaces. The peak at 1,580 cm−1 is
known as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite.
4 Wear behavior
In order to investigate the influence of the material
microstructure on the wear behavior, single discharges
were ignited between microcrystalline and nanocrystalline
boron-doped CVD diamond-coated tool electrodes and dies
steel workpiece electrodes. The applied discharge energies
of We=0.12µJ are common in µ-EDM polishing opera-
tions. The tool electrode was charged as the cathode. The
influence of the crystallite microstructure on the process
behavior in µ-EDM can be investigated by comparing the
discharge crater diameter on the microcrystalline and
nanocrystalline coatings (Fig. 3).
The diameter of the discharge crater in the micro-
crystalline diamond coating shows a diameter of
dmicro =1.5µm compared to approximately dnano =0.6µm
on the nanocrystalline diamond coating. It is assumed that
this is due to the difference in the thermal conductivity of the
microcrystalline and nanocrystalline coatings, as well as the
different sublimation points of the sp2- and sp3-bonded
carbon present in the coatings. Moreover, the microcrystal-
line diamond coating show melted and resolidified
material around the discharge crater, which is assumed to
be either workpiece material or etched and graphitized
material from the CVD diamond coating. Compared to the
microcrystalline diamond structure, the nanocrystalline
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 47:919–922
Fig. 2 Raman spectrum of microcrystalline and nanocrystalline diamond coatings
coating shows no resolidified material around the dis-
charge crater. It is assumed that the different material-
removal mechanisms observed are a result of the differing
grain sizes and therewith varying ratios of sp2 and sp3
bonding in combination with different boron inclusions in
the diamond grid.
5 Conclusions
Experimental investigations on boron-doped CVD dia-
mond coatings have shown the influence of grain size
Fig. 3 Single-discharge craters
in microcrystalline and nano-
crystalline diamond coatings
921
and microstructure on the material removal in micro-
sinking EDM. Nanocrystalline coatings exhibited
smaller discharge craters compared to those for micro-
crystalline diamond coatings, which is assumed to be
due to the greater thermal conductivity and sublimation
point of the nanocrystalline structure. Moreover, the
microcrystalline coating showed melted material around
the discharge crater, which may be the result of a
different material-removal mechanism compared to that
with nanocrystalline diamond. This will, however, be
subjected to further investigation.
922
Acknowledgement The authors wish to express their gratitude to
the European Commission for supporting the MASMICRO project in
which the work has been carried out.
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