ABSTRACT
High tribological reliability is of crucial importance in operating the many interacting surfaces that are in relative motion in mechanical systems. The goals of tribological research and development are to reduce the adhesion, friction, and wear of mechanical components. A notable amount of research effort has been put into fundamental studies of the tribological behavior of coatings. When an atomically clean diamond surface contacts an atomically clean surface of counterpart material, the dangling bonds can form strong linkages with bonds on the counterpart surface. Many researchers have found that atomically clean diamond has high adhesion and friction. The low coefficient of friction can be attributed to the combination of the low shear strength and the low surface energy of the thin film or the thin surface layer and the small real area of contact resulting from the high elastic modulus and hardness of the underlying diamond.
