Mechanical Properties of Amorphous Hard Carbon Films Prepared by Cathodic ARC Deposition

Evaluating Mechanical Properties of Thin Layers using Nanoindentation and Finite-Element Modeling: Implanted Metals and Deposited Layers

We present a methodology based on finite-element modeling of nanoindentation data to extract reliable and accurate mechanical properties from thin, hard films and surface-modified layers on softer substrates. The method deduces the yield stress, Young's modulus, and hardness from indentations as deep as 50% of the layer thickness.

Application of Cathodic Arc Deposited Amorphous Hard Carbon Films to the Head/Disk Tribology

Amorphous hard carbon films deposited by filtered cathodic arc deposition exhibit very high hardness and elastic modulus, high mass density, low coefficient of friction, and the films are very smooth. All these properties are beneficial to applications of these films for the head/disk interface tribology. The properties of cathodic arc deposited amorphous carbon films are summarized, and they are compared to sputter deposited, hydrogenated (CHx), and nitrogenated (CNx) carbon films which are the present choice for hard disk and slider coatings. New developments in cathodic arc coaters are discussed which are of interest to the disk drive industry. Experiments on the nanotribology, mass density and hardness, corrosion behavior, and tribochemical behavior of cathodic arc films are reported. A number of applications of cathodic arc deposited films to hard disk and slider coatings are described. It is shown that their tribological performance is considerably better compared to CHx and CNx films.

Bioactive surface coatings for nanoscale instruments: effects on CNS neurons

A method is described for depositing onto medical instruments highly biocompatible and bioactive surface coatings that can promote and stabilize cell attachment. The coatings were made by first depositing thin films of materials, such as diamond-like carbon, or metals, including tantalum, tungsten, platinum, gold, iridium, palladium, and brass. These surfaces were further altered to either promote or inhibit cell growth and spreading by an additional overcoat of biological materials, including the extracellular matrix proteins, laminin, fibronectin, and collagen IV. The deposition technique used a metal or carbon plasma, and the important properties of film adhesion, hardness, density, and smoothness are tailored by control of the ion bombardment energy. The films are translucent enough to permit high resolution light microscopy for rapid and detailed examination of tissue response. These bioactive substrates have been tested on primary central nervous system neurons, and the growth response is excellent. Equally successful have been our attempts to anchor neurons, without associated proliferation of non-neuronal cells, using coatings of poly-d-lysine. The method and the materials could have important ramifications in a number of areas of research and biotechnology, for example for chronic implantation of microelectrode arrays in the cerebral cortex for neuroprosthetic and neural monitoring application and for research on the human central nervous system. Possible application in nonneuronal fields, such as for coronary artery stents and pacemaker electrodes, also are discussed.