4. Conclusion

Thanks to their proven tribological performance in a wide range of applications, and their growing popularity, DLC has continued to evolve since its discovery. Improved and standardized deposition technologies have also paved the way for "mass-market" applications, enabling amorphous carbon thin films to be used for "mass production", typically automotive engine components.

However, this "democratization" of DLC should not blind us to the extreme complexity of its tribological behavior. In fact, the variety of materials developed (hydrogen content, sp ³ carbon content, doping, etc.) combined with the wide range of stress conditions leads to a broad spectrum of performances, in terms of both friction coefficient and wear resistance. These materials are extremely sensitive to environmental parameters (atmosphere, lubricant,...