Synergistic effects of optimal negative bias-enhanced growth of quenched-produced diamond films on titanium substrates

Abstract We report on negative bias-enhanced growth of quenched-produced diamond films on titanium using hybrid coaxial arc plasma deposition at room temperature. Optimizing the bias voltage to −40 V resulted in a spontaneous formation of a titanium carbide interfacial layer, which caused a significant increase in the adhesion strength from 16 to 48 N. Selective etching of undesired sp 2 –C bonded atoms and ultrafast quenching of the energetic carbon ions (C + ) promoted the growth of dense sp 3 –C bonded atoms, achieving a superhardness of 96 GPa, comparable to natural diamond. These pioneering findings have the potential to revolutionize multifunctional materials for biomedical applications.