RSM study on the influence of nitrogen flow rate and deposition temperature on the tribological properties of nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon coating

Nitrogen-doped DLC coating was deposited on AISI H13 substrate by DC-pulsed PACVD technique. The Response Surface Method (RSM) was applied to optimize the temperature of deposition and nitrogen flow rate in order to attain the lowest wear rate and friction coefficient. The Chemical composition and structural variations of the coatings were evaluated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and visible Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the wear behavior of the coatings was studied using ball-on-disk tribometer. It was observed that the optimum parameters were achieved at a deposition temperature of 117.1 °C, and nitrogen flow rate of 10 sccm to reach the best tribological behavior.