FLUORINATED DIAMOND THIN FILMS FOR TRIBOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

AN APPROACH IS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR THE FLUORINATION OF DIAMOND THIN FILMS FOR TRIBOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS. THE APPROACH USES LOW PRESSURES OF F AND/OR CFX FREE RADICALS. TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS APPROACH, DATA IS BEING COLLECTED ON: FLUORINATION KINETICS, THE COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE SURFACE AND NEAR SURFACE LAYERS, THE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON THE FLUORINATION PROCESS, AND THE THERMAL STABILITY OF THE FLUORINATION PRODUCTS. THE REACTIVITY AND STABILITY OF THE THIN FILMS IN VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTS, INCLUDING AIR, ARE ALSO BEING CHARACTERIZED. WHEN SUCCESSFUL, THIS DIAMOND THIN FILM FLUORINATION TECHNIQUE IS INTENDED TO BE INTEGRATED INTO THE THIN FILM DEPOSITION PROCESS. THE ADVANTAGES OF INTEGRATED PROCESSINGINCLUDE IMPROVED MATERIALS, REDUCED PROCESS COMPLEXITY, SHORTENED PROCESSING TIME, AND REDUCE COSTS. BECAUSE WEAR AND FRICTION ARE IMPORTANT CONCERNS AFFECTING THE PROFITABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF EVERY INDUSTRY, THESE THIN FILMS ADVANCES COULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE U.S. ECONOMY.