Effect of the plasma confinement on properties of a-C:H:SiOx films grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

The properties of SiOx doped amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H:SiOx) films greatly depend on the deposition parameters, in particular, on the ion bombardment intensity during the film growth. In this work, a magnetic field created by an external magnetic coil was used for plasma confinement and control of the ion bombardment during the process of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a-C:H:SiOx films. The structure, surface morphology, and mechanical properties of the obtained films were studied using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and nanoindentation, respectively. This work shows that the increase in the magnetic field allows better confinement of the plasma and increased the density of the ion current on the substrate. It is shown that there is an optimal value of the magnetic field at which films with the best mechanical characteristics are formed. Higher magnetic field values lead to excessive heating of the substrate by the bombarded ions and graphitization of the film carbon matrix. Under optimum conditions, deposition of an a-C:H:SiOx film on an AISI 321 stainless steel substrate allowed increasing the hardness and plasticity index of its surface twice and its plastic deformation resistance by nine times. At the same time, the wear rate and the friction coefficient decreased by 25 and 5.5 times, respectively.

In Vitro Biodegradation of a-C:H:SiOx Films on Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

“…The plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) described in [28][29][30] was used to obtain a-C:H:SiO x films. The PACVD process was provided by the plasma generator with hot cathode.…”

“…Our previous research [28][29][30] reports on the effect from these parameters on different properties of the a-C:H:SiO x film. films can be provided through varying the deposition parameters such as process pressure, precursor consumption, discharge current, filament current, and substrate bias voltage.…”

“…films can be provided through varying the deposition parameters such as process pressure, precursor consumption, discharge current, filament current, and substrate bias voltage. Our previous research [28][29][30] reports on the effect from these parameters on different properties of the a-C:H:SiOx film. In our experiment, the a-C:H:SiOx film deposition is performed in optimum conditions, which provide the formation of hard, wear-resistant, and biocompatible coatings [31,32].…”

Влияние Толщины Гидрогенизированных Углеродных Пленок, Легированных Кремнием И Кислородом, На Свойства Их Поверхности

“…После этого подложки осушались потоком сжатого воздуха. Вакууммирование рабочей камеры осуществлялось турбомолекулярным насосом до остаточного давления 10 −2 Pa. Блок-схема и параметры экспериментальной установки подробно описаны в нашей предыдущей работе [19].…”

“…Твердость (H) пленок, содержащих кремний, при этом снижается до 10−20 GPa вследствие снижения доли s p 3 гибридизированных атомов углерода. Свойства алмазоподобных пленок, легированных кремнием или SiO x , зависят как от содержания легирующей добавки [13][14][15], так и условий осаждения, таких, как амплитуда импульсов напряжения смещения подложки [16,17], состав и расход прекурсора [17,18], плотность ионного тока на подложку [19].…”