What does the DLC coating actually do?
DLC coating or diamond-like carbon coatings are available in various forms of amorphous carbon materials that showcase some of the attributes of a diamond. They can be amorphous, flexible, hard, strong, and slick according to the methods of their compositions. On these DLC coatings, films can be formed by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition, ion beam deposition, sputter deposition, and RF plasma deposition. They have become important to the transport industry because of their excellent mechanical and tribological performances. DLC coatings have thermal stability up to -3000 C, are chemically inert bio-compatible, and are oxidation resistant. There are many DLC coating suppliers in Malaysia, who provide all conventional coatings and Nano ceramic coatings for all your insulation purposes.
Different technologies deposit diamond-like carbon coatings or DLC coatings, for example, PVD arc, PVD sputtering, and PACVD processes. Several performance characteristics like hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated DLC coatings are allowed by using these technologies and deposition parameters. DLC coatings are environment-friendly means of reducing friction, wear and tear, fretting, galling, and corrosion. They are also helpful in modifying electrical conductivity and wettability. DLC coatings are often used for various decoration purposes such as watch-making, kitchen and bath hardware, jewelry, automotive interiors, firearms, and so forth for their attractive color ranges from anthracite to black, creating a fabulous combination of aesthetics and performance.
Most conventional coating suppliers host DLC coatings with physical vapor deposition processes, such as sputtering, ion beam, pulsed laser deposition, and cathodic vacuum arc depositions. The carbon atoms are enabled with a certain amount of energy and then bombarded onto the substrate in most deposition technologies. But the amount of energy per unit ion varies. Apart from all the benefits of DLC coatings, they also have high residual stresses and lower toughness that binds their usage in limitations, specifically for mechanical performances. Hence, since 1985, the quality of DLC coatings is analyzed based on two major domains – the first is the operational parameters, like, plasma potential, ion energies, power source, etcetera, and the second is the formation of DLC nanocomposite coating by doping foreign elements with it. Various metallic, ceramic, and gaseous elements are co-deposited with the DLC coatings to ignite certain characteristics. For instance, elements like chromium, nickel, molybdenum, etcetera were doped to make DLC nanocomposite coatings to enhance tribological performances, which Nano ceramic coating manufacturers often utilize. DLC coatings deposited at temperatures below 1500C by ion beam direct deposition or RF plasma CVD offer a wear-resistant chemical barrier for plastics. The several benefits of DLC coatings are wear and abrasion resistance, low friction, high hardness, anti-reflective properties, corrosion resistance, gas barrier effect, and so forth.