# Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Coatings: Classification, Properties, and Applications
###### Abstract  
DLC coatings have attracted an enormous amount of interest for science and engineering applications. DLC occurs in several different kinds of amorphous carbon materials. Owing to the extensive diversity in their properties, DLC coatings find applications in mechanical, civil, aerospace, automobile, biomedical, marine, and several other manufacturing industries. The coating life of DLC is predominately influenced by its constituent elements and manufacturing techniques. Numerous researchers have performed multiple experiments to achieve a robust understanding of DLC coatings and their inherent capabilities to enhance the life of components. In this review, a wide range of DLC coatings and their classification, properties, and applications are presented. Their remarkable performance in various applications has made DLC coatings a promising alternative over traditional solitary-coating approaches. DLC; coating; low friction; DLC applications; DLC properties; DLC classifications +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
1  
DLC coatings have attracted an enormous amount of interest for science and engineering applications. DLC occurs in several different kinds of amorphous carbon materials. Owing to the extensive diversity in their properties, DLC coatings find applications in mechanical, civil, aerospace, automobile, biomedical, marine, and several other manufacturing industries. The coating life of DLC is predominately influenced by its constituent elements and manufacturing techniques. Numerous researchers have performed multiple experiments to achieve a robust understanding of DLC coatings and their inherent capabilities to enhance the life of components. In this review, a wide range of DLC coatings and their classification, properties, and applications are presented. Their remarkable performance in various applications has made DLC coatings a promising alternative over traditional solitary-coating approaches. DLC coatings; low friction; DLC applications; DLC properties; DLC classifications +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
1  
DLC coatings are made through the mixing of poly-type, as a different form in nano-scale of structures that simultaneously are formless and adaptable, but are then only sp\({}^{3}\) reinforced like a diamond. The hardest and most grounded is such a blend, referred to as tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C). For instance, a covering of just 2 \(\upmu\)m of ta-C expands the obstruction of stainless steel against rough wear, changing its lifespan from a week to 85 years. Such ta-C can be viewed as the \"unadulterated\" type of DLC, as it comprises only sp\({}^{3}\)-reinforced C ions. Fillers, for example, hydrogen (H), graphitic sp\({}^{2}\)C, and metals, are utilized in the other six structures to decrease manufacturing costs [2,3]. In October 2011, Science Daily announced that researchers at Stanford University had made a super-hard shapeless diamond under states of ultrahigh-pressure conditions that came up short on the translucent structure of diamond [4]. Normally, diamond is quite often found in a glass-like structure with a cubic direction of sp\({}^{3}\)-reinforced C ions. The inner energy of the cubic poly-type is smaller than the hexagonal structure and growth rates from liquid material in both (i.e., normal and heavy) diamond manufacturing techniques. Meanwhile, they are moderate enough that cross-section structures havethe opportunity to fill the least energy (cubic) structure and are feasible for sp\({}^{3}\) bonding of C ions, whereas DLC is normally synthesized, utilizing rapid cooling on high-energy preliminary C on cool surfaces. In such a case, cubic and hexagonal lattices are combined with several layers, a very short period time elapses for either lattice to produce over another, and prior molecules become frozen.