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Presently various carbon-based materials are used to achieve different surface functions and coatings for anti-corrosion and electrochemical application. These are in the form of homogeneous composite materials and chemically modified polymers, with many patent pending in this field. However, association of performing anticorrosion, adherence crosslinking and hydrophobic solutions with other surface functions are more often required, including additional simultaneous tribologic, antiwear, electrochemical, optical and optoelectronic properties. Among the wide range of diamond-like and related coating materials, tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), combines many interesting, simultaneous and superior material properties compared with first generation hard carbon coatings. Especially when ta-C can be modified and adapted for its properties to a specific application by doping with multilayer and gradient configuration, thus offering many new and interesting perspectives of application. We review and discuss common coatings, by comparison and deduction. The corresponding updated and recently developed fundamentals are also considered to show the potential for better performing and up-scaled anti-corrosion and electrochemical solutions.

The development of micro and nano electromechanical systems and achievement of higher performances with increased quality and life time is confronted to searching and mastering of material with superior properties and quality. Those can affect many aspects of the MEMS, NEMS and MOMS design including geometric tolerances and reproducibility of many specific solid-state structures and properties. Among those: Mechanical, adhesion, thermal and chemical stability, electrical and heat conductance, optical, optoelectronic and semiconducting properties, porosity, bulk and surface properties. They can be affected by different kinds of phase transformations and degrading, which greatly depends on the conditions of use and the way the materials have been selected, elaborated, modified and assembled. Distribution of these properties cover several orders of magnitude and depend on the design, actually achieved structure, type and number of defects. It is then essential to be well aware about all these, and to distinguish and characterize all features that are able to affect the results. For this achievement, we point out and discuss the necessity to take into account several recently revisited fundamentals on carbon atomic rearrangement and revised carbon Raman spectroscopy characterizing in addition to several other aspects we will briefly describe. Correctly selected and implemented, these carbon materials can then open new routes for many new and more performing microsystems including improved energy generation, storage and conversion, 2D superconductivity, light switches, light pipes and quantum devices and with new improved sensor and mechanical functions and biomedical applications.

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