Tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) has emerged as an excellent coating material for improving the reliability of application components under high normal loads. Herein, we present the results of our investigations regarding the mechanical and tribological properties of a 2-µm-thick multilayer ta-C coating on high-speed steel substrates. Multilayers composed of alternating soft and hard layers are fabricated using filtered a cathodic vacuum arc with alternating substrate bias voltages (0 and 100 V or 0 and 150 V). The thickness ratio is discovered to be 1:3 for the sp²-rich and sp³-rich layers. The results show that the hardness and elastic modulus of the multilayer ta-C coatings increase with the sp³ content of the hard layer. The hardness reached approximately 37 GPa, whereas an improved toughness and a higher adhesion strength (> 29 N) are obtained. The friction performance (µ = 0.07) of the multilayer coating is similar to that of the single layer ta-C thick coating, but the wear rate (0.13 × 10⁻⁶ mm³/(N·m)) improved under a high load of 30 N. We further demonstrate the importance of the multilayer structure in suppressing crack propagation and increasing the resistance to plastic deformation (H³/E²) ratio.

We report the structure, mechanical properties, thermal stability, and durability of Si/SiC/ta-C composite (Si–ta-C) coatings fabricated using simultaneous filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition and direct current unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Si concentration of 1.25–6.04 at.% was achieved by increasing the unbalanced magnetron sputtering power from 25 to 175 W. Si addition provided functionality to the coating, such as heat resistance, while retaining the high hardness of ta-C coatings. The Si–ta-C coatings were stable up to 600 °C regardless of the Si content, while the coating containing 3.85 at.% Si was stable up to 700 °C. The friction behavior and mechanical properties were dependent on the coating film before and after annealing at 100–200 °C; however, annealing at 300–400 °C decreased disk wear and increased counterpart wear due to an increase in film hardness on account of an endothermic reaction that increased the number of Si–C bonds. This indicates that the basic hardness characteristics of the ta-C coating and the high-temperature structural change of the Si–ta-C coating are important for ensuring high-temperature durability. These characteristics were verified through the low coefficient of friction and wear rate of the 1.25 at.% Si–ta-C coating after annealing at 500 °C.

Tetrahedral amorphous carbon (taC) is a hydrogen-free carbon with extensive properties such as hardness, optical transparency, and chemical inertness. taC coatings have attracted much attention in recent times, as have coatings doped with a noble metal. A known antimicrobial metal agent, silver (Ag), has been used as a dopant in taC, with different Ag concentrations on the Ti64 coupons using a hybrid filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) and magnetron sputtering system. The physiochemical properties of the coated surface were investigated using spectroscopic and electron microscopy techniques. A doping effect of Ag-taC on biofilm formation was investigated and found to have a significant effect on the bacterial-biofilm-forming bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa depending on the concentration of Ag. Further, the effect of coated and uncoated Ag-taC films on a pathogenic bacterium was examined using SEM. The result revealed that the Ag-taC coatings inhibited the biofilm formation of S. aureus. Therefore, this study demonstrated the possible use of Ag-taC coatings against biofilm-related complications on medical devices and infections from pathogenic bacteria.