Diamond Like Carbon Coatings

Sulzer Metco Division

Ketan Itchhaporia
Sales/Market Manager
Cell: 1-716-474-9207
Email: ketan.itchhaporia@sulzer.com

6000 North Bailey Avenue Suite 9 Amherst, NY 14226 Phone: 716-270-2228 Fax: 716-270-2230
 DLC Proprietary Coating Family
DYLYN®–doped:
DLC: a-C:H DYLYN®: a- C:H, a- Si:O
a- C:H, a- Si:O, a-?

 Hard amorphous carbon thin film  Hard amorphous carbon thin film  Atoms* can be introduced into the carbon
 very hard  very hard matrix to alter the coating properties

 electrically insulating  electrically insulating  These atoms can be metal; we most

commonly use Titanium
 wear resistant  wear resistant
 Others possible metal dopants include W, Hf,
 Comprises C, H  Comprises C, H, Si, O Zr, Al, Cu, Cr, Ni.
 Primarily sp3 bonding => "Diamond-like"  a-C:H => "Diamond-like" properties
 Non-metal ions may also be used
properties  a-Si:O => enhances high temperature stability, leads
to lower friction, lowers film stress  Introduction of metal allows significant
 There are a few variants of DLC coatings electrical tailorability
 Dylyn® is a family of coatings
 Engineered interface layers for optimized film  Multi-layer and gradient coatings are
stress  Low intrinsic stress possible
 Several US patents issued

| slide 2
DLC vs Other Surface Treatments

| slide 3
 Coatings Reduce Abrasive Wear
8000

7000

6000
Hardness Comparison Soft Hard Particle
5000

4000 DLC
Hard
3000
Vickers (HV)

2000

1000

0
®
Diamond DLC Dylyn Metal Carbon Nickel Teflon
Cavidur® N TiN CrN Hard Chrome 52100

PART
TOOL
ABRASION:
The high hardness of Diamond-Like Coatings reduce the likelihood of hard particle penetration into the
tool or part.
| slide 4
 Coatings Reduce Friction / Material Pickup
(Galling)
0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5
Coefficient of Friction

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
PTFE DLC Diamond Metal Carbon TiN 52100
Dylyn® Cavidur® N Nickel Teflon Hard Chrome CrN

τ1 F=τ x A
τ1 > τ2

τ2 PART
TOOL

RESISTANCE TO ADHESION:
The chemically inert characteristics of diamond-like coatings dramatically reduce
possibility of cold welding and material pickup on the surface of the tool
Comparison of Wear

v Force (F): 20 N
Velocity (V): 200 RPM
Sliding Distance: 10,000
Revolutions
F Wear Factor
Coating (x 10-8 mm3/Nm)
1.40E-05

1.20E-05
DLC 1-5
1.00E-05
Dylyn® 5 - 10
Wear (mm /Nm)

8.00E-06 WC/C 41
3

6.00E-06
TiCN 60
TiN 250
4.00E-06

2.00E-06

0.00E+00
TiAlN 790 - 1000
TiN Cr Dylyn®/DLC
Coating Wear Wear on Steel Ball (52100)
Wear Rate Comparison of Coated and Uncoated Aluminum
Coupons

Light Wear Scar

With No Debris Force (F): 1.7 N
Velocity (V): 200
RPM
Sliding Distance:
10,000 Revolutions
Counter-surface: ¼”
52100 Steel Ball

v
DLC Coated Uncoated

Deep Wear Scar

F
With Aluminum
Particles
Corrosion Test

Dylyn® Coated Corrosive Attack

DLC

New
After 192 hours
After 120 hoursAfter 10 hours

TOOL PART

TiN Coated The high density and

amorphous structure of
Diamond-Like Coatings
inhibit the corrosive by-
ASTM B 117-97 Salt Spray Test products from penetrating
into the tool.
SEM-Comparison

2.5 µm
5,000 X
1,000 X

Amorphous coating
structure
without change in
surface finish

Dylyn®/DLC (PACVD) TiAlN (PVD)

 Surface Engery & Wetting Behavior of Different
Coatings

Close-up of a series of
liquid droplets on a
Dylyn® sample
•Surface energy is a
lubricant fluid drop measure of the
wetting angle
with constant volume, affinity of a
here water of contact 
substance to stick to
fluid spreads
over the surface the material.
   •The lower the value,
Metal the less likely a
DLC TiN TiAlN material will weld or
Carbide
Dylyn®
stick to a surface.
•PFTE has a surface
20 - 40 40 - 42 42 - 46 46 - 53 energy of 18 mN/m
Surface Energy
Better Wetting Behavior (mN/m)

Better Release Behavior

Coatable Substrate Materials

- Metals - Ceramics
• Stainless Steel • Glass
• Carbon Steel • Alumina ceramics
• Tool Steel • Aluminum nitride
• Inconel • WC-Co
• Superalloys • SiC
• Aluminum • Silica
• Beryllium Copper
• Die-cast
Magnesium - Semiconductors
• Silicon
- Carbides • Germanium
• Tungsten Carbide • GaAs
• Titanium Carbide • InP
• SiC
- Plastics 3µm
• Polyester (Mylar)
SEM Cross-section of Dylyn®®
• Polyamide (Kapton)
on a metal substrate
Uncoatable Materials and/or Surfaces

Uncoatable Materials Uncoatable Surfaces

- Bronze - DLC Coated *

- Brass (Some exceptions - Dylyn Coated *

depends on the alloys used)
- Chrome Plated
- Lead (Pb)
- Anodized Aluminum
- Manganese * We can sometimes coat over DLC or
Dylyn by use of a Titanium layer.
- Tin (Sb)

- Low Temperature Braze

(< 1000˚F)

- Plastics
Note: We prefer to always coat virgin surfaces
 Characterization Lab

- Thickness
- Tencor P10 and 16
- Taylor Hobson Talysurf
- Hardness
- Nanoindenter
- Wear
- Sliding wear: pin-on-disk
- Adhesion
- Scratch Tester
- Rockwell C Indent
- Thermal Shock Testing
- Electrical Testing
- Microscopy Use of the Lab can show that all modifications in
- Optical: in-house coating recipes can be quantified and measured to
- SEM & TEM at BTC
assure the new characteristic was achieved and
- Other methods: show how all the related coating properties have
- FTIR been affected, as well as demonstrate current recipe
- UV-Vis
coating properties.
- Raman Spectroscopy
 Applications

Sulzer is active in these focused application areas:

• Semiconductor components and tools
• ESC’s, vacuum chucks, cooling pedestals
• Docking components and screws for precision alignment
• Precision Valve components
• Air bearings
• Wafer/material handling components
• Wafer processing equipment
• Thermal Print Heads
• Molds for plastic molding
• Form giving molds / moving mold parts
• CD & DVD molds
• Medical Instruments…
• Racing/Automotive engine components
• Industrial Components
• Metal forming
• Dynamic Seals
 In a nutshell: Why Sulzer Diamond Like
Coatings?

Dylyn®/DLC is able to offer a wide variety of properties

with only ONE coating:
- lowest available coefficient of friction… (0.05 -0.1)

- …which is maintained by the high hardness ( avg 85Rc)

- no surface roughness changes … that could influence galling and

release properties

- Side benefits _ corrosion protection (amorphous coating)

- Coating temperature below 215°C

- Removable!! _ without changing the base surface

- Biocompatible
Thank you….