Adhesion Enhancement on a Duplex DLC HiPIMS Positive Pulse Coating Performed by Active Screen Plasma Nitriding Pretreatment on 316L Stainless Steel Substrate

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have been the object of research interest due to properties such as excellent wear resistance, low coefficient friction, high hardness, elastic modulus, and biocompatibility. Despite this, DLC has poor adhesion properties, which makes it challenging use in industrial applications. The application using high-power pulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) technique with positive pulses studied. Seeking greater coating adherence, a nitriding pretreatment prior studied improve its AISI316L stainless steel soft metal substrates, employing active screen plasma (ASPN). influence different temperatures reach maximum levels analyzed. Scratch methods employed assess adhesion. elemental composition, morphology, roughness samples studied, well behavior resistance friction. results show an improvement DCL Critical loads (LC3) increase at higher temperatures, from 48 N for 82 ASPN + DLC. Pretreatment also shown be effective maintaining dry