Diamondlike carbon coatings: Chemical and morphological study by ERDA and AFM

Abstract

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C: H) thin films have attracted a great deal of interest in the last fewyears because they possess excellent diamondlike properties. In this study, a-C: H films were deposited on (111) silicon by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Films deposited from rf plasma have a low friction coefficient and high hardness and are chemically inert. These properties give the films enhanced wear, oxidation, and corrosion resistance. During film deposition, argon or helium was used as a carrier gas and methane as the carbon precursor gas. The variation of density, hydrogen content, and morphology of films with the type of gas used and the bias voltage applied was examined by elastic recoil detection analysis and atomic force microscopy.