This two-year award supports U.S.-France Cooperative research in electronic materials. The project involves Robert Sinclair and David Stevenson of Stanford University and Michel Jaouen, Jean Grilhe and others at the University of Poitiers. The investigators propose to prepare diamond carbon and diamond-like carbon films and magnetic layers and then characterize their mechanical properties and microstructure. Using specialized ion- beam deposition techniques developed by the Poitiers research group, they will make a new type of carbon film. Testing of wear resistance and friction will be handled at Poitiers, and the hardness of the films will be determined by a special indentation machine at Stanford. Characterization of the materials will be carried out by high-resolution electron microscopy at Stanford and complemented by electron energy loss spectroscopy and synchrotron x-ray studies at Orsay. It has been shown that hard carbon films, composed of a mixed diamond and graphite crystal structure, used as coatings, could improve friction and wear. However, adhesion of the coatings on substrates remains a problem for materials researchers. The ultimate goal of this collaboration is to develop new, wear resistant films with good tribological and adhesion properties. These new materials are important for magnetic layers and disk memory applications and could lead to improved computer and information technologies.
