Pulsed laser deposition of diamond-like carbon films under a magnetic field has been studied. The magnetic field with its direction parallel to the surfaces of substrate and target can significantly enlarge the volume of green plume, and hence improve the uniformity. It has been found that not only the uniformity of thickness but also the hardness of films grown by this method were greatly improved. These diamond-like carbon films were analysed by atomic force microscopy and micro-hardness measurements. The root-mean-squared surface roughness of the films was about 0.265 nm. The hardness of films made by this technique can reach up to .

The surface morphologies of pulsed laser deposited ultra-thin diamond-like carbon films were studied by optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Off-axis deposited films had a larger size of particulates than on-axis deposited films. The root-mean-squared surface roughness was sensitive to deposition temperature. As a protective coating, the film was deposited on porous silicon. The surface morphology of the porous silicon changed considerably after carbon coating.

Diamond-like carbon films have been synthesized by the pulsed laser deposition under a magnetic field. The hardness of the films was increased considerably. However, due to the large compressive stress in the films, adhesion of the films became a serious problem. Two methods, i.e. laser irradiation of the silicon substrate surface and growing a composition-graded intermediate layer, were used to increase the adhesion. With the variations of the interface conditions, the change of the stress type from compressive stress to tensile stress was observed. By careful choosing the composition change of the intermediate layer, adherent diamond-like carbon films with a thickness of 1145 nm were successfully grown on silicon substrates at 80°C.

Boron carbon nitride coatings have been synthesized by the pulsed laser deposition method. Vickers micro-hardness and adhesion of the coatings were studied. A new model was applied to determine the hardness of the coatings which were too thin to be directly measured by the Vickers micro-hardness test. An intermediate layer of silicon was used to enhance the adhesion of the coatings on stainless steel, glass, and quartz substrates.

The influence of silicon intermediate layer on adhesion of carbon films has been investigated by using the micro-scratch method. The carbon films with and without Si intermediate layer were grown on glass substrates by both electron beam evaporation and pulsed laser deposition. To improve the adhesion of carbon, a silicon intermediate layer was deposited by electron beam evaporation with thickness ranged from 6 to 42 nm. Variations in adhesion were found for different coating techniques and deposition conditions, especially the thickness of silicon intermediate layers. The cause of such variations was discussed.