Diamond-like carbon

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a dense, partially sp3 bonded form of amorphous carbon prepared by ion beam or plasma deposition and frequently used as a hard coating material. Its sp3 bonding arises from C+ ions penetrating surface layers and giving a quenched-in density increase. The formation of DLC can be viewed as a phase transition to a denser metastable phase. The atomic structure of DLC consists of a network of sp3 and sp2 sites. The ?r states of sp2 sites control the electronic properties and the connectivity of sp' sites controls the mechanical properties.