Preparation of H-terminated and aminated diamond like carbon surfaces

H-terminated DLC layers were synthesized on SiO 2 substrate by radio frequency (RF) magnetron plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in a conventional reactor using C 4 H 10 as carbon source. As-deposited DLC films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM). The chemical reactivity of the obtained DLC surface was further investigated by exposing the photochemically oxidized DLC surface to a silane reagent. The course of the reaction was followed using water contact angle and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Diamond Like Carbon Film Deposited on Porous Silicon as Passivation Coating

By depositing diamond like carbon (DLC) film with radio frequency plasma chemical vapor deposition (RFPCVD) method, a new surface passivation technique for photoluminescence porous silicon (PS) has been studied. The surface microstructure and photoelectric properties of both porous silicon and DLC coated PS have been analyzed by using AFM, FTIR and PL spectrotrieters. The results show the DLC film with dense and homogenous nanometer grains can be deposited on the PS used as passivation coating as it can terminate oxide reaction on the surface of the PS. Furthermore, certain ratio of hydrogen existed in the DLC film can be improved to form hydride species on the DLC/PS interface as the centers of the luminescence so that the DLC coating is of benefit not only to the passivation of the PS but also to the improvement of its luminescent intensity.

Designing multilayer diamond like carbon coatings for improved mechanical properties

New multilayer coatings were produced by incorporating alternating soft and hard DLC layers enabled by varying the bias voltage during deposition process while maintaining a constant hard-to-soft layer thickness ratio.These coatings were deposited onto a Cr/Cr Cxgraded layer by closed field unbalanced magnetron sputtering(CFUBMS).The cross-sectional analysis of the coatings showed that the multilayer coatings possess sharp interfaces between the soft and hard layers with the hard to soft layer thickness ratio(1:1.33)constant in all the coatings.Raman analysis uncovered the increasing sp^(3)character of the DLC coatings as a result of decreasing ID/IGratio and increasing full width at half maximum(FWHM)values of the G band peak induced supposedly by an increase in bias voltage during hard layer deposition.Nanoindentation tests showed an increase in hardness of the DLC coatings which can be correlated with the increase in the sp^(3)content of the coatings as well as decreasing sp^(2)-C cluster size,as calculated from the ID/IGratio.Furthermore,the coatings exhibited excellent plastic deformation resistance and adhesion strength upon microindentation and scratch testing,respectively.Although further investigations are required to assess coating durability,the multilayer design could offer the DLC coatings with a rare opportunity to combine the high hardness with damage resistance with a constant bilayer thickness and without the need to introduce complex multilayer system.

Characterization of the Diamond-like Carbon Based Functionally Gradient Film

Diamond-like carbon coatings have been used as solid lubricating coatings in vacuum technology for their good physical and chemical properties. In this paper, the hybrid technique of unbalanced magnetron sputtering and plasma immersion ion implantation (Plll) was adopted to fabricate diamond-like carbon-based functionally gradient film, N/TiN/Ti(N,C)/DLC, on the 304 stainless steel substrate. The film was characterized by using Raman spectroscopy and glancing X-ray diffraction (GXRD), and the topography and surface roughness of the film was observed using AFM. The mechanical properties of the film were evaluated by nano-indentation. The results showed that the surface roughness of the film was approximately 0.732 nm. The hardness and elastic modulus, fracture toughness and interfacial fracture toughness of N/TiN/Ti(N,C)/DLC functionally gradient film were about 19.84 GPa, 190.03 GPa, 3.75 MRa.m1/2 and 5.68 MPa.m1/2, respectively. Compared with that of DLC monolayer and C/TiC/DLC multilayer, this DLC gradient film has better qualities as a solid lubricating coating.

Synthesis and Characteristics of Diamond-like Carbon Films Deposited on Quartz Substrate

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are deposited on quartz substrate using pure CH4 in the surface wave plasma equipment. A direct current negative bias up to -90 V is applied to the substrate to investigate the bias effect on the film characteristics. Deposited films are characterized by Raman spectroscopy, infrared (IR) and ultraviolet-visible absorption techniques. There are two broad Raman peaks around 1340 cm-1 and 1600 cm-1 and the first one has a greater sp3 component with an increased bias. Infrared spectroscopy has three sp3 C-H modes at 2852 cm-1, 2926 cm-1 and 2962 cm-1, respectively and also shows an intensity increase with the negative bias. Optical band gap is calculated from the ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and the increased values with negative bias and deposition time are obtained. After a thermal anneal at about 500℃ for an hour to the film deposited under the bias of-90 V, we get an almost unchanged Raman spectrum and a peak intensity-reduced IR signal, which indicates a reduced H-content in the film. Meanwhile the optical band gap changed from 0.85 eV to 1.5 eV.

STUDY ON DIAMOND LIKE CARBON THIN FILM BY FILTERED VACUUM ARC DEPOSITION

Diamond like carbon thin film is successfully deposited on silicon, titanium and stainless steel substrate at low temperature in a filtered vacuum arc deposition system. Arc discharges are established on a graphite cathode in the system with a toroidal macroparticle filter. A cathode activating magnetic field and a filtered magnetic field to collimate the plasma beam are applied. Ion current convected by the plasma beam is measured with a negatively biased probe. It is shown that the magnetic field of the coils located on the plasma duct has a strong influence on cathode spot behavior. Orthogonally the designed experiments are carried out to optimize the deposition parameters of arc stability. Finally, the diamond like carbon thin films are studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectrum.

Micro/Nanomechanical and Tribological Properties of Thin Diamond-Like Carbon Coatings

The diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with different thicknesses on 9Crl8bearing steels were prepared using vacuum magnetic-filtering arc plasma deposition. Vickersindentation, nanoin-dentation and nanoscratch tests were used to characterize the DLC films with awide range of applied loads. Mechanical and tribological behaviors of these submicron films wereinvestigated and interpreted. The hardnesses of 9Cr18 and DLC. determined by nanoindentation, areapproximately 8GPa and 60GPa respectively; their elastic moduli are approximately 250GPa and 600GParespectively. The friction coefficients of 9Cr18, DLC, organic coating, determined by nanoscratch,are approximately 0. 35, 0. 20 and 0. 13 respectively. It is demonstrated that nanoindentation andnanoscratch tests can provide more information about the near-surface elastic-plastic deformation,friction and wear properties. The correlation of mechanical properties and scratch resistance of DLCfilms on 9Cr18 steels can provide an assessment for the load-carrying capacity and wear resistance.

Preparation of Diamond-like Carbon Films on the Surface of Ti Alloy by Electro-deposition

In this paper, diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on Ti alloy by electro-deposition. DLC films were brown andcomposed of the compact grains whose diameter was about 400 nm. Examined by XPS, the main composition of the filmswas carbon. In the Raman spectrum, there were a broad peak at 1350 cm^(-1) and a broad peak at 1600 cm^(-1), which indicatedthat the films were DLC films.

Studies of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited on stainless steel substrate with Si/SiC intermediate layers

In this work, diamond-like carbon （DLC） films were deposited on stainless steel substrates with Si/SiC intermediate layers by combining plasma enhanced sputtering physical vapour deposition （PEUMS-PVD） and microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition （MW-ECRPECVD） techniques. The influence of substrate negative self-bias voltage and Si target power on the structure and nano-mechanical behaviour of the DLC films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, nano-indentation, and the film structural morphology by atomic force microscopy （AFM）. With the increase of deposition bias voltage, the G band shifted to higher wave-number and the integrated intensity ratio ID/IG increased. We considered these as evidences for the development of graphitization in the films. As the substrate negative self-bias voltage increased, particle bombardment function was enhanced and the sp^3-bond carbon density reducing, resulted in the peak values of hardness （H） and elastic modulus （E）. Silicon addition promoted the formation of sp^3 bonding and reduced the hardness. The incorporated Si atoms substituted sp^2- bond carbon atoms in ring structures, which promoted the formation of sp^3-bond. The structural transition from C-C to C-Si bonds resulted in relaxation of the residual stress which led to the decrease of internal stress and hardness. The results of AFM indicated that the films was dense and homogeneous, the roughness of the films was decreased due to the increase of substrate negative self-bias voltage and the Si target power.

Tribological properties of diamond-like carbon films deposited bv pulsed laser arc deposition

A novel method, pulsed laser arc deposition combining the advantages of pulsed laser deposition and cathode vacuum arc techniques, was used to deposit the diamond-like carbon （DLC） nanofilms with different thicknesses. Spectroscopic ellipsometer, Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and multi-functional friction and wear tester were employed to investigate the physical and tribological properties of the deposited films. The results show that the deposited films are amorphous and the sp2, sp3 and C-O bonds at the top surface of the films are identified. The Raman peak intensity and surface roughness increase with increasing film thickness. Friction coefficients are about 0.1, 0.15, 0.18, when the film thicknesses are in the range of 17-21 nm, 30-57 nm, 67-123 nm, respectively. This is attributed to the united effects of substrate and surface roughness. The wear mechanism of DLC films is mainly abrasive wear when film thickness is in the range of 17-41 nm, while it transforms to abrasive and adhesive wear, when the film thickness lies between 72 and 123 nm.

Deposition of Diamond-Like Carbon on Inner Surface by Hollow Cathode Discharge

A cylindrical hollow cathode discharge （HCD） in CH4/Ar gas mixture at pressure of 20-30 Pa was used to deposit diamond-like carbon （DLC） films on the inner surface of a stainless steel tube. The characteristics of the HCD including the voltage-current curves, the plasma im- ages and the optical emission spectrum （OES） were measured in Ar and CHn/Ar mixtures. The properties of DLC films prepared under different conditions were analyzed by means of Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results show that the electron exci- tation temperature of HCD plasma is about 2400 K. DLC films can be deposited on the inner surface of tubes. The ratio of sp3/sp2 bonds decreases with the applied voltage and the deposition time. The optimizing CH4 content was found to be around CH4/Ar =1/5 for good quality of DLC films in the present system.

Influence of Microwave Power on the Properties of Hydrogenated Diamond-Like Carbon Films Prepared by ECR Plasma Enhanced DC Magnetron Sputtering

Electron cyclotron resonance （ECR） plasma was applied to enhance the direct current magnetron sputtering to prepare hydrogenated diamond-like carbon （H-DLC） films. For different microwave powers, both argon and hydrogen gas are introduced separately as the ECR working gas to investigate the influence of microwave power on the microstructure and electrical property of the H-DLC films deposited on P-type silicon substrates. A series of characterization methods including the Raman spectrum and atomic force microscopy are used. Results show that, within a certain range, the increase in microwave power affects the properties of the thin films, namely the sp3 ratio, the hardness, the nanoparticle size and the resistivity all increase while the roughness decreases with the increase in microwave power. The maximum of resistivity amounts to 1.1×10^9 Ω.cm. At the same time it is found that the influence of microwave power on the properties of H-DLC films is more pronounced when argon gas is applied as the ECR working gas, compared to hydrogen gas.

Frictional and Optical Properties of Diamond-Like-Carbon Coatings on Polycarbonate

In this work, diamond-like-carbon （DLC） films were deposited onto polycarbonate （PC） substrates by radio-frequency plasma-enhanced cheraical vapor deposition （RF PECVD）, and silicon films were prepared between DLC and PC substrates by magnetron sputtering deposition so as to improve the adhesion of the DLC films. The deposited films were investigated by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy （FE-SEM）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and Raman spectroscopy. Subsequently, the following frictional and optical properties of the films were measured： the friction coefficient by using a ball-on-disk tribometer, the scratch hardness by using a nano-indenter, the optical transmittance by using a UV/visible spectrometer. The effects of incident power upon the frictional and optical properties of the films were investigated. Films deposited at low incident powers showed large optical gaps, which decreased with increasing incident power. The optical properties of DLC films correlated to the sp^2 content of the coatings. High anti-scratch properties were obtained at higher values of incident power. The anti-scratch properties of DLC films correlated to the sp^3 content of the coatings.

Structure and Mechanical Performance of Nitrogen Doped Diamond-like Carbon Films

Nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon （DLC：N） films were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition （ECR-CVD） on polycrystalline Si chips. Film thickness is about 50 nm. Auger electron spectroscopy （AES） was used to evaluate nitrogen content, and increasing N2 flow improved N content from 0 to 7.6%. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis results reveal CN-sp^3C and N-sp^2C structure. With increasing the N2 flow, sp^3C decreases from 73.74% down to 42.66%, and so does N-sp^3C from 68.04% down to 20.23%. The hardness decreases from 29.18 GPa down to 19.74 GPa, and the Young＇s modulus from 193.03 GPa down to 144.52 GPa.

Structures of Diamond-Like Carbon Films

The structures of diamond-like carbon （DLC） films, including a-C：H, a-C, ta-C：H and ta-C films have been investigated as a random covalent network with a dense film structure. The results show that sp2 C in a-C：H and a-C films tends to form olefinic and aromatic groups while sp^3 C in ta-C：H and ta-C films tends to form single or multiple sixfold groups. The hydrogen atoms in hydrogenated DLC films contribute to stabilizing the carbon skeletal networks. The film structures are well related to their properties such as optical gaps, density and hardness. The results also indicate that the high density and the extreme hardness of ta-C films are attributed to the forming of large sp^3 C bonded sixfold groups.

Fabrication of Diamond-like Carbon Films by Ion Assisted Middle Frequency Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering

Diamond-like carbon （DLC） films are deposited by the Hall ion source assisted by the mid-frequency unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of the substrate voltage bias, the substrate temperature, the Hall discharging current and the argon/nitrogen ratio on the DLC film＇s performance were studied. The experimental results show that the film＇s surface roughness, the hardness and the Young＇s modulus increase firstly and then decrease with the bias voltage incrementally increases. Also when the substrate temperature rises, the surface roughness of the film varies slightly, but its hardness and Young＇s modulus firstly increase followed by a sharp decrease when the temperature surpassing 120 ℃. With the Hall discharging current incrementally rising, the hardness and Young＇s modulus of the film decrease and the surface roughness of the film on 316L stainless steel firstly decreased and then remains constant.

Improvement of Thermal Stability and Tribological Performance of Diamond-Like Carbon Composite Thin Films

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a metastable amorphous film that exhibits unique properties. However, many limitations exist regarding the use of DLC, for example, its tribological characteristics at high temperature, as well as its limited thermal stability. In this study, silicon/oxygen and silicon/nitrogen co-incorporated diamond-like carbon (Si-O-DLC and Si-N-DLC) films are studied, taking into account the thermal stability and tribological performance of these films compared with pure DLC. All the films were prepared on Si wafers, WC-Co materials, and aluminum foils using a plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) technique using acetylene (C2H2), tetramethylsilane (TMS, Si(CH3)4), oxygen (O2) and nitrogen (N2) as plasma sources. The structure of the films was characterized using Raman spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the films was measured using thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The friction coefficient of the films was assessed using ball-on-disk friction testing. The results indicate that Si-N-DLC films present better thermal stability due to the presence of Si-O networks in the films. The Si-N-DLC (23 at.%Si, 8 at.%N) film was affected using thermal annealing in an air atmosphere with increasing temperature until 500°C. The film can also resist thermal shock by cycling 10 times between the various temperatures and air atmosphere until 500°C. Further, Si-O-DLC and Si-N-DLC films exhibit excellent tribological performance, especially the Si-N-DLC (23 at.%Si, 8 at.%N) film, which exhibits excellent tribological performance at 500°C in an air atmosphere. It is concluded that Si-O-DLC and Si-N-DLC films improve upon the thermal stability and tribological performance of DLC.

Characterization and Application of Diamond-like Carbon Films

Diamond like carbon films were synthesized by the pulsed laser deposition method under a magnetic filed. The magnetic field was used to enhance the hardness of the films. Analysis with transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were carried out to characterize the films. As a protective coating, the film was deposited on porous silicon. The influence of the coating on the photoluminescence properties of porous silicon was studied.

Irradiation Effect of γ Rays on Diamond-Like Carbon Films

Diamond like carbon films, prepared by RF glow discharge on glass substrates, were irradiated by γ rays. The as deposited and irradiated films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, electrical resistivity, and infrared transmittance. It is shown that the irradiation of the γ rays can lead to the breaking of SP 3 C H and SP 2 C H bonds, slight increasing of SP 3 C C bonds, and induced hydrogen recombination with H 2 molecules, subsequently diffusing to the surface of the films. When the γ rays irradiation dose reached 10×10 4 Gy, the numbers of SP 3 C H bonds was decreased by about 50%, the resistivity of irradiated DLC films was increased, and the diamond like character of the films became more obvious. The structure of DLC films was modified when irradiated by γ rays. The irradiation mechanisms are briefly discussed.

Deposition behavior and tribological properties of diamond-like carbon coatings on stainless steels via chemical vapor deposition

A systematic investigation was carried out to observe the deposition rate of a diamond-like carbon(DLC) coating on two stainless steel substrates by chemical vapor deposition(CVD). The objective of this research is to study the deposition behavior of the DLC coating and its tribological properties in different combinations of methane(CH_4) and nitrogen, which were used as precursor gases. The results reveal that the deposition rate increases with increasing CH_4 content up to 50 vol%. The hardness of the DLC-deposited layer also increases while the friction coefficient decreases with increasing CH_4 gas content up to 50% in the precursor gas mixture.