ISO 20523:2017规定了碳基薄膜的分类、名称和简称。这些膜中碳是主要组成部分，并通过物理气相沉积（PVD）或化学气相沉积工艺沉积。这包括非晶碳基膜，也称为类金刚石碳膜（DLC），以及CVD金刚石膜、石墨和类聚合物膜。 ISO 20523:2017适用于工业规模生产的薄膜。其他碳基薄膜正在开发中。 ISO 20523:2017指的是碳基薄膜的材料。它不是指整个涂层，该涂层可以由一个主要功能层和下面或上面的附加层组成。 层的组成和/或材料性质可以随其厚度而变化。这种层称为梯度层。本文件中的定义涉及非梯度层。 碳基膜可以包括其他元素，如氢、金属元素或其他。金属成分可以包括为金属碳化物。如果碳是主要组成部分，则本文件仅涵盖含有附加元素的薄膜。 作为碳化物结合的碳，如可存在于含金属的非晶碳膜（a-C:Me，a-C:H:Me）中的碳，不计入该量。 ISO 20523:2017不适用于富勒烯、碳纳米管和石墨烯等碳材料类别。

ISO 20523:2017 specifies classification, designations and short names for carbon based films. These are films in which carbon is the predominant constituent part and which are deposited by physical vapour deposition (PVD) or chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. This includes amorphous carbon-based films, also called diamond-like carbon films (DLC), as well as CVD diamond films, graphite and polymer-like films. ISO 20523:2017 is applicable to those films which are produced on an industrial scale. Additional carbon based films are under development. ISO 20523:2017 refers to the material of carbon based films. It does not refer to the entire coating that can consist of a main functional layer with additional layers below or on top. A layer can change in composition and/or material property over its thickness. Such layers are called gradient layers. The definitions in this document refer to non-gradient layers. A carbon based film can include other elements like hydrogen, metal elements or others. Metal constituents can be included as metal carbides. Films with additional elements are only covered by this document if carbon is the predominant constituent part. Carbon incorporated as carbide, as can be present in metal-containing amorphous carbon films (a-C:Me, a-C:H:Me), does not count to this amount. ISO 20523:2017 does not apply to the class of carbon materials such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene.