Patent ID: 6599400
Filing Date: 2003-07-29
Classification: C23C

Abstract:
A method for manufacturing a coating having a low coefficient of friction on an article having a surface, said coating comprising a transition layer provided at said surface, a sequence of alternating carbon and carbide layers deposited on said transition layer and a topmost layer, the method comprising the steps of:depositing said layer sequence of alternating carbon and carbide layers on said transition layer, said carbide layers being formed by sputtering of a target comprising a carbide of at least one element of the group consisting of a metal, silicon and boron, and said carbon layers being generated by sputtering of a target made of graphite, selecting a layer thickness of each said carbon layer of said layer sequence in the range between approximately 1 nm and approximately 20 nm, selecting said topmost layer to consist of carbon, selecting a layer thickness for each of said carbide layers in the range between 1 and 3 nm, and depositing said carbon layers to have a number of sp2 bonds and a number of sp3 bonds, a ratio of said number of sp3 bonds to said number of sp2 bonds being greater than 1.