Author(s)

E. Braca, L Valentini & J.M. Kenny

Abstract

The very high interest in diamond and Diamond-Like-Carbon (DLC) has been further increased by the much more recent discovery that it is possible to produce polycrystalline diamond films and coatings by a wide variety of CVD techniques using, as raw materials, nothing more exotic than a hydrocarbon gas (typically methane) in an excess of hydrogen. CVD diamond can show mechanical and tribological properties comparable to those of natural diamond. This review concerns the applications of CVD diamond as related to mechanical properties, and the possibility of an economically viable alternative in many fields to natural diamond and to the traditional HPHT diamond synthesised at high pressures and temperatures. 1 Introduction The Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) technology a

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