The Influence of Preparation Conditions on the Structural Properties and Hardness of Diamond-Like Carbon Films, Prepared by Plasma Source Ion Implantation

Abstract

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were prepared from a hydrocarbon precursor gas by plasma source ion implantation (PSII), in which the plasma generation and the film deposition were coupled; i.e., the plasma was generated by the applied voltage and no additional plasma source was used. Several experimental parameters of the PSII process were varied, including the sample bias (high voltage, DC or pulsed), gas pressure, sample holder type and addition of argon in the plasma gas. The influence of the deposition conditions on the carbon bonding and the hydrogen content of the films was then determined using Raman spectroscopy. Nanoindentation was used to determine the hardness of the samples, and a ball-on-disk test to investigate the friction coefficient. Results suggest that films with a lower sp2 content have both a higher hydrogen content and a higher hardness. This counterintuitive finding demonstrated that the carbon bonding is more important to hardness than the reported hydrogen concentration. The highest hardness obtained was 22.4 GPa. With the exception of a few films prepared using a pulsed voltage, all conditions gave DLC films having similarly low friction coefficients, down to 0.049.

Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Coatings: Classification, Properties, and Applications

“…Particle energy for each C ion demands 500 eV for methane, but 1000 eV for acetylene. An irregular mix stores a-C: H from methane at high atomic energy (600-1200 eV) [67][68][69][70][71][72].…”

Оптимизация Анодной Мембраны С Прострельной Мишенью В Системе Источников Мягкого Рентгеновского Излучения Для Проведения Процессов Рентгеновской Нанолитографии

“…В качестве материалов компенсирующего электрода и электрода анодной мембраны были рассмотрены кремний, алюминий и алмазоподобные пленки. Из моделирования следует, что наиболее подходящим материалом для указанных электродов являются алмазоподобные пленки, поскольку по сравнению с другими материалами они менее подвержены электростатическому прогибу в силу своей предельно высокой жесткости (более 80 GPa [22]). По этой причине электроды, выполненные из данного материала, демонстрируют устойчивость к отклонению разности напряжений V CE − V A между компенсирующим электродом и матрицей анодных узлов от пороговой величины (V CE − V A ) th , при которой деформация матрицы становится минимальной.…”

Optimizing the Microstructure, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of Si-DLC Coatings on NBR Rubber for Its Potential Applications

“…Considering that the friction and wear always occur on the surface and subsurface of materials, and thus the surface coatings with excellent friction and wear have been suggested as protective coatings. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is popularly regarded as a promising protective coating because of their outstanding mechanical and tribological properties such as high hardness, low friction coefficient and high wear resistance [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In the past decade, the related studies experienced great momentum since T. Nakahigashi et al [7] claimed that a new flexible film has been applied to the rubber o-rings for zoom cameras.…”