A novel coating has been synthesized under a "Small Grants for Exploratory Research" (SGER) award. It is a metastable compound, which appears to be carbon nitride and which appears to have unusual tribological properties. Theory predicts that is should have hardness greater than that of diamond, the hardest known materials. Under the present award a systematic study will be undertaken to optimize the deposition process for tribological performance and to fully evaluate the composition, microstructure and friction and wear behavior of this novel coating material.
