Smooth solution to a hard problem

摘要

Many aircraft manufacturers now spec-ify hard, thin-film protective coatings for critical parts in their engines. Common techniques for producing the thin films include laser ablation, ion-beam-assisted deposition, cathodic arc, electron-beam evaporation, and magnetron sputtering. Using this last technique, researchers at Northwestern University and BIRL (Basic Industrial Research Laboratory), both located in Evanston, Ill., have produced carbon-nitride thin films as hard as diamond thin films, but without the roughness that can oc-cur with diamond coatings.