Your future disk drive or artificial hip could be coated with a nano-sized film of synthetic diamond. National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have developed a patented process to deposit diamond particles on metal that has the potential to significantly reduce surface friction and wear.

Diamond, one of the hardest substances, is already used to coat drill bits and other surfaces that require extreme durability. But those surfaces are rough at the molecular level, which is measured in nanometers-each of which is one billionth of a meter. Physics professor Yogesh Vohra and graduate student Shane Catledge used a nano-scale chemical vapor deposition process to bond a diamond film to metal surfaces, creating an ultra-smooth coating that is also more resistant to wear. These nano-structured diamond films have a hardness value of about 80 percent of that of a perfect crystalline diamond and have an exceptional adhesion to the underlying metal.

The diamond surfaces are potentially useful in electronic components, magnetic storage technology and biomedical implants.