Abstract
With the recent significant advances in micro- and nanoscale fabrication techniques, deposition of diamond-like carbon films on stainless steel substrates has been experimentally achieved. However, the underlying mechanism for the formation of film microstructures has remained elusive. In this study, the growth processes of diamond-like carbon films on AISI 316L substrate are studied via the molecular dynamics method. Effects of substrate bias voltage on the structure properties and sp3 hybridization ratio are investigated. A diamond-like carbon film with a compact structure and smooth surface is obtained at 120 V bias voltage. Looser structures with high surface roughness are observed in films deposited under bias voltages of 0 V or 300 V. In addition, sp3 fraction increases with increasing substrate bias voltage from 0 V to 120 V, while an opposite trend is obtained when the bias voltage is further increased from 120 V to 300 V. The highest magnitude of sp3 fraction was about 48.5% at 120 V bias voltage. The dependence of sp3 fraction in carbon films on the substrate bias voltage achieves a high consistency within the experiment results. The mechanism for the dependence of diamond-like carbon structures on the substrate bias voltage is discussed as well.
Highlights
Stainless steel alloys have been widely used in orthopedic implants [1,2] and various industrial areas [3] because of their desirable mechanical properties, non-toxicity, biological safety, and cost effectiveness
This study showed that the sp3 fraction in diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is low at a moderate argon flow rate around 50 sccm, while it is higher in the other ranges of argon flow rate
We discuss a potential mechanism for the dependence of sp3 fraction and DLC film structure on the substrate bias voltage
Summary
Stainless steel alloys have been widely used in orthopedic implants [1,2] and various industrial areas [3] because of their desirable mechanical properties, non-toxicity, biological safety, and cost effectiveness. These alloys exhibit some poor properties such as weak chemical bonds with natural bones [4], low hardness, and low corrosion resistance [3]. Property enhancement of DLC film deposited on stainless steels is necessary
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