The thermostability of diamond like carbon (DLC) films was investigated. The results show that the structure and electrical resistivity of DLC films show no appreciable change after annealing at up to 400°C. After annealing at temperatures higher than 400°C, the amorphous carbon crystallises and the resistivity greatly decreases owing to the dehydrogenation of the DLC film, followed by the precipitation of small graphite crystals. However, the hardness remains approximately constant after annealing at temperatures in the range 200–700° C. This may be attributed to the incompleteness of the crystallisation and the very fine graphite particles formed during annealing.
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