ABSTRACT
Diamond is too extreme to be able to adhere to ordinary materials; hence, a less extreme material called diamond-like carbon (DLC) is needed as a coating material. Typically, DLC is deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD) that does not involve chemical reactions. The PVD process is deposited atom by atom, or ion by ion. Although PVD processes are performed in partial vacuum, and at low temperatures, but in reality atoms being deposited are experiencing extreme pressures and temperatures. Thus, PVD process actually may be a violent process with continuous bombardments of high energy atoms. In fact, if this trend continues, the PVD process may grade into a CVD process with the possibility to form nanocrystalline diamond. These two conditions of electrical arc have their application in PVD coating of DLC. The high dose of implanted carbon atoms near the surface will harden the surface, so it is more receptive to the coating of amorphous diamond.
