Structure and hardness of diamond-like carbon films prepared by arc evaporation

Martin, Phil; Filipczuk, S.W.; Netterfield, R. P.; Field, John S.; Whitnall, D. F.; McKenzie, David R.

doi:10.1007/bf01730760

Cited by 146 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Amorphous carbon has been deposited from a cathodic arc by various groups. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Hardness values ranging from 26 GPa to over 60 GPa have been measured by nanoindentation methods. The difficulties of deriving hardness values for such hard, thin films on softer substrates are well recognized.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hardness, elastic modulus, and structure of very hard carbon films produced by cathodic-arc deposition with substrate pulse biasing

Pharr¹,

Callahan²,

McAdams³

et al. 1996

Applied Physics Letters

255

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The hardness, elastic modulus, and structure of several amorphous carbon films on silicon prepared by cathodic-arc deposition with substrate pulse biasing have been examined using nanoindentation, energy loss spectroscopy ͑EELS͒, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. EELS analysis shows that the highest sp 3 contents ͑85%͒ and densities ͑3.00 g/cm 3 ͒ are achieved at incident ion energies of around 120 eV. The hardness and elastic modulus of the films with the highest sp 3 contents are at least 59 and 400 GPa, respectively. These values are conservative lower estimates due to substrate influences on the nanoindentation measurements. The films are predominantly amorphous with a ϳ20 nm surface layer which is structurally different and softer than the bulk. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. ͓S0003-6951͑96͒01105-6͔A cathodic-arc plasma source equipped with a magnetic macroparticle filter is an efficient tool for depositing highquality thin films of metals, alloys, and compounds. To date, the technique has been employed primarily in laboratory settings, but recent advances have led to large units capable of full-scale commercial production. 1 One material which has received a great deal of attention in cathodic-arc processing is amorphous carbon ͑a-C͒. In addition to being chemically inert, electrically insulating, transparent, and having a low coefficient of friction, cathodic-arc carbon is of interest because of its potential as thin coating material with very high hardness. Amorphous carbon has been deposited from a cathodic arc by various groups. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Hardness values ranging from 26 GPa to over 60 GPa have been measured by nanoindentation methods. The difficulties of deriving hardness values for such hard, thin films on softer substrates are well recognized. 9 Nevertheless, the high values reported suggest that a-C with very high hardness can be achieved by cathodic-arc deposition.The key to producing high hardness in amorphous carbon films appears to be in promoting high sp 3 bond content through careful control of the energy of incident ions during deposition. 6,10-14 For cathodic-arc deposition, one way to achieve this is by substrate pulse biasing. 15 Pulse biasing has an important advantage compared to dc bias in that, whereas with dc bias electrical breakdown can result with pulsed biasing the applied voltage can be arbitrarily high ͑the voltage is switched off before the high voltage plasma sheath expands to dangerous distances͒.We have investigated the properties of cathodic-arc carbon as a function of biasing conditions and have found a set of conditions which produces very hard films. Here, we report the hardness and elastic modulus of these films measured by nanoindentation methods and the structure of the films determined by transmission electron microscopy ͑TEM͒ and electron energy loss spectroscopy ͑EELS͒.The carbon films were deposited on silicon substrates using a cathodic-arc plasma source combined with a 90°bent magnetic macroparticle filter. The source and f...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hardness, elastic modulus, and structure of very hard carbon films produced by cathodic-arc deposition with substrate pulse biasing

Pharr¹,

Callahan²,

McAdams³

et al. 1996

Applied Physics Letters

255

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“…Since the beginning of the last decade, thin films of amorphous carbon have attracted considerable interest [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] due to their properties akin to diamond that make them quite promising for the coating technology. These amorphous carbon films encompass a broad class of carbon materials comprising of different combinations of diamond, graphite and polymeric bonding in an intimately mixed amorphous structure and hence describe a wide range of material properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depending on their structure they can have a maximum of 90% of the carbon atoms in sp 3 hybridized tetrahedral bonding configuration, similar to that in diamond [3][4][5][6], on which the diamond-like properties in these materials such as hardness, electrical resistivity, transparency in the IR region, etc. depend [1][2][3][9][10][11]. However it is not easy to grow amorphous carbon films with very high fraction of carbon atoms in sp 3 hybridized tetrahedral bonding configuration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films with enhanced sp3-C bonding on nanocrystalline palladium interlayer

Roy

Mali

Joshi

et al. 2007

Diamond and Related Materials

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“…In the cathodic arc, the energy of the ions is approximately 23 eV, just inside the required energy range. 4 This energy can be further modified by the application of rf or dc bias to the substrate. ta-C films with approximately 80% sp 3 fraction are produced from almost pure energetic carbon ions by filtering macro-or neutral particles using a curved magnetic field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The application of the cathodic arc to plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition of carbon

Yin

McKenzie

Zou

et al. 1996

Journal of Applied Physics

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This article reports on the properties of hydrogenated carbon films deposited using a cathodic arc decomposition process with a graphite cathode used in a plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition mode. In this application of the cathodic arc, acetylene is broken down into radicals to form hydrogenated amorphous carbon films. Some results are also reported using hydrogen gas. The density in terms of plasmon energy or sp 3 fraction of the films has been found to decrease with increasing acetylene or hydrogen flow rate, approaching the value for glow discharge deposited polymer-like hydrogenated amorphous carbon. When substrate bias is used, the hydrogen content is reduced and graphite microcrystals appear, together with cauliflower-like growths. In the range between 100 and 500 V, negative substrate bias increases the density of the films. Overall, the hydrogen content decreases with the density of the films.

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Structure and hardness of diamond-like carbon films prepared by arc evaporation

Cited by 146 publications

References 5 publications

Hardness, elastic modulus, and structure of very hard carbon films produced by cathodic-arc deposition with substrate pulse biasing

Hardness, elastic modulus, and structure of very hard carbon films produced by cathodic-arc deposition with substrate pulse biasing

Deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films with enhanced sp3-C bonding on nanocrystalline palladium interlayer

The application of the cathodic arc to plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition of carbon

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