Mechanical properties (hardness and adhesion) of a‐C:H thin films produced by dual ion beam sputtering

Abstract

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a‐C:H) are very hard, inert to organic solvents and inorganic acids, and relatively transparent. This combination of mechanical and optical properties makes such material an ideal candidate for optical coatings. The dual ion beam sputtering technique has been used for a‐C:H thin‐film deposition. By the ultramicrohardness Knoop indentation and scratch test technique, hardness and adhesion of samples have been measured. The correlation between hardness value at an indentation size of 10 μm and ion beam energy of the second gun is reported.