ENHANCED ADHESION OF DLC THIN FILMS BY PRE-TREATMENT OF RUBBER SUBSTRATE

摘要

High-friction factor has limited the use of rubber substrates in a wide range of engineering applications. To reduce friction and enhance wear resistance, several researchers have deposited wear resistant material layers on substrates. As a pre-requisite for good performance, coatings should ideally have strong adhesion to rubber substrates and sufficient flexibility to adapt to large strain of rubbers under applied loads. Based on these criteria, research efforts in identifying suitable coatings for rubbers have led to diamond-like carbon (DLC)-based thin films. For more than a decade, DLC thin films were used on rigid substrates such as metallic alloys or silicon (Si)-wafers, however several deposition techniques such as radio frequency (RF)-plasma deposition, filtered-arc deposition, and femtosecond-pulsed laser deposition have recently caught the attention for deposition of DLC films on a variety of rubbers.