Amorphous hydrogenated carbon films deposited by a closed-drift ion source

Abstract

The general possibility of the extended (∼30 cm) closed-drift ion source application for deposition of wear-resistant amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films on large-area dielectric substrates, in particular, on carbon-fiber plastic, is shown. Parameters of the “ion” and the “plasma” regimes of the ion source operation in argon and methane are defined. It is shown that the ion current nonuniformity is in the range of ±5–15% depending on the operation mode. Optimum conditions for the substrate precleaning in argon and hard, well-adhered a-C:H films deposition from methane are determined. The films are characterized by high hardness (∼11 GPa) and low surface roughness (∼0.13 nm) that leads to a several times lower friction coefficient (0.05) and wear rate (0.001 μm3m−1N−1) compared to glass and carbon-fiber plastic substrates.