ABSTRACT
Amorphic diamond films have been distinguished by their mechnical strength from other diamond-like films prepared by a variety of techniques [1-7]. They have been produced by accelerating and quenching an intense layer plasma of C3+ and C4+ onto a cold substrate [8]. Recent microstructural studies of amorphic diamond films have shown them to be composed of hard dense nodules with grain sizes of the order of 10-100 nm. The diamond characteristics of this material have been evaluated by several analytical methods. Different measurements agree in supporting sp3 contents of better than 75% [3-5]. No other source has been reported for these materials and, to date, the quenching of C+ ion beams alone onto a substrate has been shown to produce only i-C or defected graphite [4, 7]. The importance of this amorphic diamond material has been suggested by recent reports of its unique mechanical properties [5, 6]. It was shown that a combination of low internal stress and high bonding strength produced coatings with exceptional resistance to wear and erosion.
