Laser texturing of a multilayer DLC from nano-liquid-diamond precursors via microsecond laser pulses

Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coatings have well known mechanical properties, including high hardness, chemical stability, optical transparency and biocompatibility. In addition they are frequently used in multilayer coating systems. Laser surface texturing of DLC coatings can be a tailoring solution to optimize the coating functional parameters like roughness, wettability, wear, corrosion resistance, etc. Furthermore, compared to mechanical grinding, local laser removal could be a suitable technology for repairing locally damaged coated parts (i.e. worn surfaces, corroded surfaces, etc.) In the present work, laser surface texturing and controlled laser removal of a multilayer DLC coating obained from nano-liquid-diamond precursors have been studied using a 8W Q-switched laser (λ=532 nm) with microsecond pulses. Textured ablation as well as full planar decoating are shown through proper adjustment of laser texturing parameters.