Intense Ion Bombardment Research Articles

PLASMA PARAMETERS AND REACTIVE-ION ETCHING KINETICS OF ZnO IN HYDROGEN BROMIDE: THE INFLUENCE OF INERT CARRIER GAS

This work discusses the influence of inert carrier gases, Ar and He, on both gas-phase plasma characteristics and ZnO etching rate under typical reactive-ion etching conditions in the hydrogen bromide environment. Plasma diagnostics by Langmuir probes and 0-dimensional plasma modeling allowed one to compare how the content of given carrier gas does influence electrons-and ions-related plasma parameters, kinetics and densities of plasma active species. It was found that the transition toward Ar- or He-rich plasmas a) causes the growth of electron temperature (due to lower electron energy losses in collisions with atomic species); b) reduces plasma electronegativity; and c) results in opposite changes in both ion density and ion flux. The last phenomenon is due to opposite changes in total ionization rates determined by sufficient difference in ionization rate coefficients for Ar and He atoms. Important features of HBr + Ar plasma at 0–80% Ar are also the slower-than-linear fall of Br atom density (due to the intensification of electron impact dissociation for both HBr and Br2 molecules) as well as an increase in H atom density (due to decreasing their loss rate in gas-phase reactions). Etching experiments indicated that the ZnO etching rate is mostly contributed by the ion-assisted chemical reaction while the reaction rate decreases faster compare with the Br atom flux. The corresponding decrease in the effective reaction probability may be related to changes in both ion bombardment intensity and hydrogen passivation effect. For citation: Efremov A.M., Smirnov S.A., Betelin V.B., Kwon K.-H. Plasma parameters and reactive-ion etching kinetics of ZnO in hydrogen bromide: the influence of inert carrier gas. ChemChemTech [Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Khim. Khim. Tekhnol.]. 2024. V. 67. N 12. P. 86-95. DOI: 10.6060/ivkkt.20246712.7081.

A One‐Dimensional Model of Atmospheric Sputtering at Io Driven by S++ and O+

AbstractIo, the closest of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, suffers from intense ion bombardment from Jupiter's magnetosphere. The constant atmospheric erosion by energetic ion precipitation, referred to atmospheric sputtering, serves as an important mechanism of Io's atmospheric escape. This study is devoted to a state‐of‐the‐art study of atmospheric sputtering at Io, with the aid of constantly accumulated understandings of Io's space environment and atmospheric photochemistry, as well as the updated laboratory measurements. A Monte Carlo model is constructed to track the energy degradation of incident S++ and O+ and atmospheric recoils from which the sputtering yields of different atmospheric species are determined. Our calculations suggest a total escape rate of 3 × 1029 atom s−1 on Io, and SO2 is the dominant sputtered species. Further investigations reveal that S++ is the most efficient species for atmospheric sputtering on Io, and sputtering yields increase substantially with increasing incident ion mass, energy, and incidence angle. The model sensitivity to different influence factors is also discussed, including scattering angle distribution, atmospheric column density, proton precipitation, inelastic process, and surface sputtering, of which the former two dominate.

Deposition of a‐C:H:SiOx Coatings Using Low‐Frequency Inductively Coupled Plasma

This article investigates the plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a‐C:H:SiOx coatings in a non‐self‐sustaining arc discharge plasma with a hot cathode in combination with a low‐frequency (200 kHz) inductively coupled plasma. It is shown that increasing the inductor power from 0 to 600 W leads to a twofold increase in the ion current density on the substrate. An increase in ion bombardment intensity results in a 1.3‐fold reduction in the coating's growth rate due to the resputtering phenomenon, a 1.5‐fold reduction in surface roughness, and an improvement in the mechanical properties of the coatings. The hardness of the coating is increased by 9–11%, the plasticity index by 10–17%, and the resistance to plastic deformation by 32–49%.

ON THE COMPARISON OF REACTIVE-ION ETCHING MECHANISMS FOR SiO2 AND Si3N4 IN HBr + Ar PLASMA

This work investigated the influence of component ratio in the HBr + Ar gas mixture on electro-physical plasma parameters, steady-state densities of active species and reactive-ion etching (RIE) kinetics for SiO2 and Si3N4 under conditions of inductive RF (13.56 MHz) discharge. The combination of plasma diagnostics by Langmuir probes and plasma modeling indicated that an increase in Ar content at constant gas pressure and input power a) caused an increase in electron temperature and densities of charged species; b) results in increasing ion bombardment intensity; and c) leads to the nearly proportional decrease in Br atoms density and flux. It was found that variations of SiO2 and Si3N4 etching rates vs. mixture composition are qualitatively similar while the maximum difference in corresponding absolute values takes place in pure HBr plasma. The analysis of RIE mechanisms was carried out using model-predicted data on fluxes of ions and bromine atoms. It was found that the dominant SiO2 etching mechanism is the ion-assisted chemical reaction which is characterized by the nearly-constant rate in the range of 0–80% Ar due to an increase in the effective reaction probability. That is why the noticeable intensification of physical sputtering with increasing Ar fraction in a feed gas causes the only weak growth of obtained SiO2 RIE rate. Oppositely, the Si3N4 etching process is mainly contributed by the physical sputtering while the efficiency of ion-stimulated chemical reaction is limited by the low reaction probability. This provides both slower etching process (especially in Ar-poor plasmas) and stronger sensitivity of etching rate to the change in mixture composition. For citation: Efremov A.M., Betelin V.B., Kwon K.-H. On the comparison of reactive-ion etching mechanisms for SiO2 and Si3N4 in HBr + Ar plasma. ChemChemTech [Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Khim. Khim. Tekhnol.]. 2023. V. 66. N 6. P. 37-45. DOI: 10.6060/ivkkt.20236606.6786.

Plasma Parameters and Kinetics of Reactive Ion Etching of SiO2 and Si3N4 in an HBr/Cl2/Ar Mixture

The parameters of the gas phase and the kinetics of reactive ion etching of SiO2 and Si3N4 under conditions of an induction RF (13.56 MHz) discharge with a varying HBr/Cl2 ratio is studied. The study includes plasma diagnostics using Langmuir probes, plasma modeling to find stationary concentrations of active particles, measuring velocities, and analyzing etching mechanisms in the effective interaction prob-ability approximation. It is found that the substitution of HBr by Cl2 at a constant argon content (a) is accompanied by a noticeable change in the electrical parameters of the plasma; (b) leads to a weak increase in the intensity of ion bombardment of the treated surface; and (c) causes a significant increase in the total concentration and flux density of reactive particles. It is shown that the etching rates of SiO2 and Si3N4 increase monotonically as the proportion of Cl2 increases in a mixture, while the main etching mechanism is an ion-stimulated chemical reaction. The model description of the kinetics of such a reaction in the first approximation assumes (a) the additive contribution of bromine and chlorine atoms and (b) the direct pro-portional dependence of their effective interaction probabilities on the intensity of ion bombardment. The existence of an additional channel of heterogeneous interaction with the participation of HCl molecules is proposed.

On mechanisms influencing etching/polymerization balance in multi-component fluorocarbon gas mixtures

In this work, we performed both experimental and model-based study of plasma parameters, steady-state gas phase compositions and heterogeneous process kinetics in CF4 + C4F8 + Ar and CF4 + CHF3 + Ar gas mixtures under the condition of 13.56 MHz inductively-coupled plasma. As constant input parameters we used gas pressure (6 mTorr) and input power (700 W) while variable ones were fluorocarbon component ratios and bias power. It was found that the substitution of CF4 for any second fluorocarbon gas a) results in rather weak effects on electrons- and ions-related plasma characteristics (especially in the case of C4F8); and b) causes sufficient changes in kinetics of neutral species that accelerate the formation of polymerizing radicals and suppress the F atoms density (especially in the case of CHF3). The latter is due to the effective decay of F atoms in the CHFx + F → CFx + HF reaction family. On the contrary, the variation of bias power does not influence kinetics of plasma active species, but changes only the ion bombardment intensity (and thus, the ion-induced reaction kinetics) through the negative dc bias voltage. The phenomenological (based on the gas-phase-related tracing parameters) analysis of heterogeneous process kinetics indicated that the fluorocarbon gas ratio represents the more effective tool to adjust etching characteristics, polymerization rate and the fluorocarbon film thickness. The last two values were found to be always higher in C4F8 - containing plasmas.

PLASMA COMPOSITION AND SiO2 ETCHING KINETICS IN CF4/C4F8/Ar/He MIXTURE: EFFECTS OF CF4/C4F8 MIXING RATIO AND BIAS POWER

Gas-phase characteristics as well as reactive-ion etching kinetics of silicon dioxide in CF4/C4F8/Ar/He plasma with variable CF4/C4F8 mixing ratio and bias potential were investigated under conditions of low (~ 0.05 W/cm3) input power regime. The interest to such regime is due to the possibility to obtain higher etching anisotropy with lower surface damages. The research scheme included plasma diagnostics by Langmuir probes and optical emission spectroscopy in the internal (with no use of standard additives) actinometry approach. It was shown that the substitution of C4F8 for CF4 does not produce sufficient changes in both electrons- and ions-related plasma parameters, but causes a weak increase in fluorine atom density. On the contrary, an increase in the bias power (and thus, in the bias potential) does not disturb plasma composition, but is characterized by proportional changes in the ion bombardment energy. As such, selected variable parameters represent somewhat classical “chemical” and “physical” factors influencing heterogeneous stages of the etching process. It was found that the dominant contribution to the SiO2 etching process belongs to its chemical component while bias powers above 400 W provide no dependence of Si(s.) + xF → SiFx (where index (s.) points out the particle situated on the surface) reaction probability on the efficiency of ion-induced production of adsorption sites for fluorine atoms, as SiOx(s.) → Si(s.) + xO. At lower bias powers, the presence of such dependence is confirmed by similar changes of effective reaction probability and ion bombardment intensity, traced by the multiplication of ion flux on square root of ion energy. Some suggestions concerning peculiarities of both gas-phase and heterogeneous process kinetics at low plasma densities were made.

Field Emitters for Miniature High-Voltage Electronic Devices Operating in Technical Vacuum

We present the results of the development and study of the field emitters for high-voltage electronic devices operating in technical vacuum. The main attention is paid to estimating the possibilities of using distributed field emitters under the conditions of intense ion bombardment.

Improvement of thermoplastic elastomer degradation resistance by low-energy plasma immersion ion bombardment

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) have been used instead of traditional elastomers, since they combine the low cost of raw material with easy processing and recyclability. When used in sealing components, the polyester-based TPE, or COPEs, are most common. Although COPEs have mechanical properties similar to those of elastomers, they have limited resistance to corrosion in chlorinated water. Argon Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (IIIP) treatments were applied to alter the morphology and chemical composition of the COPE surface, with the goal of increasing its chemical inertia in chlorinated water while preserving the desired bulk properties. The effect of ion bombardment energy on the elemental composition, chemical structure, morphology, topography and mechanical properties of COPEs was evaluated, along with whether changes in such properties affected the degradation resistance of the material in chlorinated water. Treatments were performed for 60 min in radiofrequency argon plasmas (13.56 MHz, 5.0 Pa), with the power of the excitation signal varying from 10 to 150 W. Since variations in signal power changed the self-bias potential of the driven electrode, and samples were positioned at this electrode, the ion bombardment intensity was varied in the different treatments. Immediately after treatments, surfaces became more hydrophilic than the as-received ones, but after being aged in air, some samples became hydrophobic. Dehydrogenation was the main alteration attained in chemical composition, inducing changes in the overall chemical structure. Species removal from less resistant regions promoted creation of nanometric structures randomly distributed on the surface but without promoting changes in the volumetric mechanical properties of COPE. The most pronounced surface changes were observed for the sample treated in plasmas at 150 W, which also presented the highest resistance to chlorinated solution. This improvement suggests an increase in COPE performance in practice.

Sputter Deposition of Transition Metal Oxides on Silicon: Evidencing the Role of Oxygen Bombardment for Fermi‐Level Pinning

Different magnetron sputtering‐based deposition methods of nickel oxide SiO2‐passivated Si surfaces are compared. Results highlight that the presence of oxygen in the deposition chamber during reactive sputtering drastically affects the Si/SiO2 interface. An alternative method for the preparation of NiO is the sputtering of metallic nickel in oxygen‐free atmosphere followed by a post oxidation of the deposited layer in an oxygen atmosphere without plasma exposition is proposed. This method is introduced as metal layer oxidation (MLO). Using this technique, the barrier height on n‐type silicon increases from ≈0.4 eV for reactively sputtered NiO to more than 0.6 eV for the MLO method. In situ photoelectron spectroscopy evidences the formation of an extra electronic state when NiO is reactively sputtered, which is assigned to the intense oxygen ion bombardment of the Si/SiO2 surface during the process. This extra‐electronic state pins the silicon energy bands in an undesirable position. The extra‐electronic state is associated with oxygen interstitial in the SiO2 implanted during reactive sputtering.

Effect of the plasma confinement on properties of a-C:H:SiOx films grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

The properties of SiOx doped amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H:SiOx) films greatly depend on the deposition parameters, in particular, on the ion bombardment intensity during the film growth. In this work, a magnetic field created by an external magnetic coil was used for plasma confinement and control of the ion bombardment during the process of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a-C:H:SiOx films. The structure, surface morphology, and mechanical properties of the obtained films were studied using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and nanoindentation, respectively. This work shows that the increase in the magnetic field allows better confinement of the plasma and increased the density of the ion current on the substrate. It is shown that there is an optimal value of the magnetic field at which films with the best mechanical characteristics are formed. Higher magnetic field values lead to excessive heating of the substrate by the bombarded ions and graphitization of the film carbon matrix. Under optimum conditions, deposition of an a-C:H:SiOx film on an AISI 321 stainless steel substrate allowed increasing the hardness and plasticity index of its surface twice and its plastic deformation resistance by nine times. At the same time, the wear rate and the friction coefficient decreased by 25 and 5.5 times, respectively.

Energy-enhanced deposition of copper thin films by bipolar high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Bipolar Pulse High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (BP-HiPIMS) was investigated and used in this work to control the ion bombardment process of growing thin films and to improve their structure and properties. Energy-resolving mass spectroscopy was used to investigate the effect of reverse target voltage on the ion energies and fluxes during BP-HiPIMS of a high-purity copper target, in argon gas. It was found that the reverse target voltage provides a wide range of ion energies and fluxes incident to the growing film, which, in turn, produce a wide variety of effects during the deposition process, improving the adhesion strength and influencing both surface and bulk properties. Fast ICCD imaging was used to investigate both HiPIMS and BP-HiPIMS plasma dynamics. The temporal and spatial distributions of plasma potential measurements were performed in order to explain the mechanisms for accelerating the ions. The topological, structural and mechanical properties of the deposited coatings were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nanoindentation and scratch tests. The obtained results indicate an energy-enhanced deposition process during BP-HiPIMS, the deposited films being characterized by smooth surfaces, dense microstructure, small inert gas inclusions, high elastic strain to failure, scratch resistance and good adhesion to the substrate. These improvements in the films' structure and properties may be attributed to the intense and energetic ion bombardment taking place during the deposition process. During BP-HiPIMS operation, there is no net increase in the deposition rate as compared to the monopolar regime due to the re-sputtering process.

Discharge with a self-heated hollow cathode and a vaporizable anode in an inhomogeneous magnetic field

This work is devoted to studying the conditions of the stable burning of discharge with self-heated hollow cathode and anode placed in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. Such a discharge generates dense plasma in Ar-O2 mixture, and compression of the discharge column by magnetic field allows efficient evaporation of the anode material. A new method of deposition of oxide coatings through reactive anode evaporation was implemented in such a system. The rate of this process, unlike the reactive magnetron sputtering, is not limited by the low-rate sputtering of oxidized target. In addition, this method provides intense ion bombardment of a coating surface. The terms of suppression of ion-sound oscillations have been determined, and a stable burning of discharge with current up to 40 A at a pressure of Ar-O2 mixtures 0.1 Pa has been achieved. The results of the probe diagnostic of discharge plasma parameters are presented. Nanocrystalline Al2O3 coatings have been deposited in the studied system on the area of 300-600 cm2 with rate 2-5 μm/h at temperatures of 400-600°C.

Electric and magnetic fields synergistically enhancing high power impulse magnetron sputtering deposition of vanadium coatings

The high power impulse magnetron plasmas (HIPIMS) were employed as a novel deposition technique, which had the benefit of providing a high ionization degree. In contrast, due to the ion return effect, the deposition rate was relatively low compared to the conventional direct current. In this paper, the external electric field and external magnetic field enhanced simultaneously the HIPIMS ((E-MF)-HIPIMS) to achieve higher deposition rate of the coatings. The vanadium coatings were deposited by the (E-MF)-HIPIMS at equivalent average target powers. The substrate peak ion current density measured in the (E-MF)-HIPIMS mode was increased by a factor of 4 to the discovered current density for the HIPIMS conditions when the anode voltage was set to 70 V. The enhanced ion flux bombardment from the highly ionized (E-MF)-HIPIMS plasma led to the formation of a smoother surface and a denser structure. At the same average target power for the vanadium coatings depositions, the (E-MF)-HIPIMS exhibited higher deposition rates compared to the conventional HIPIMS by approximately 73%. The (E-MF)-HIPIMS sputtered vanadium coating exhibited significantly higher-sized film and substrate interface bonding strengths than compared to the HIPIMS by the Rockwell adhesion testing. In addition, the (E-MF)-HIPIMS sputtered vanadium coating exhibited an improved friction coefficient and improved corrosion resistance compared to the substrate and the HIPIMS sample. The improvement occurred due to the enhanced particle ionization and intense ion bombardment.

Decoupling high surface recombination velocity and epitaxial growth for silicon passivation layers on crystalline silicon

We have critically evaluated the deposition parameter space of very high frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition discharges near the amorphous to crystalline transition for intrinsic a-Si:H passivation layers on Si (1 1 1) wafers. Using a low silane concentration in the SiH4–H2 feedstock gas mixture that created amorphous material just before the transition, we have obtained samples with excellent surface passivation. Also, an a-Si:H matrix was grown with embedded local epitaxial growth of crystalline cones on a Si (1 1 1) substrate, as was revealed with a combined scanning electron and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study. This local epitaxial growth was introduced by a decrease of the silane concentration in the feedstock gas or an increase in discharge power at low silane concentration. Together with the samples on Si (1 1 1) substrates, layers were co-deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrates. This resulted in void-rich, mono-crystalline epitaxial layers on Si (1 0 0). The epitaxial growth on Si (1 0 0) was compared to the local epitaxial growth on Si (1 1 1). The sparse surface coverage of cones seeded on the Si (1 1 1) substrate is most probably enabled by a combination of nucleation at steps and kinks in the {1 1 1} surface and intense ion bombardment at low silane concentration. The effective carrier lifetime of this sample is low and does not increase upon post-deposition annealing. Thus, sparse local epitaxial growth on Si (1 1 1) is enough to obstruct crystalline silicon surface passivation by amorphous silicon.

Effect of the plasma excitation power on the properties of SiOxCyHz films deposited on AISI 304 steel

Films were produced on stainless-steel substrates by radiofrequency Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (RF-PECVD) of mixtures containing 70% hexamethyldisiloxane, 20% oxygen and 10% argon. While the plasma excitation power was varied from 15 to 75W, the deposition time and total gas pressure were kept constant at 1800s and 8.0Pa, respectively. The influences of the plasma power on the plasma kinetics and the ion bombardment of the growing film are discussed. Film composition and chemical structure were determined using X-ray photoelectron- and infrared reflectance-absorbance spectroscopy, respectively. Profilometry was used to measure the thicknesses of the resulting layers. The root mean square roughness was evaluated from surface topographic profiles acquired by atomic force microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy were employed to evaluate the morphology and elemental composition of the coatings. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization tests were used to derive the corrosion resistance of the samples to a saline solution. Substantial changes in the material structure and progressive increases in film thickness were observed with increasing applied power. The resulting material was an organosilicon layer composed of SiO backbones surrounded by methyl groups, very similar to conventional polydimethylsiloxane. Increases in the proportions of SiO and methylsilyl groups in the structure were observed at greater plasma excitation powers, indicating densification of the structure owing to greater ion bombardment. The surface morphology and roughness were also dependent on the treatment power. Independently of the deposition conditions, application of the film increased the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel. A 10,000-fold elevation in the total system resistance under electrochemical testing was achieved for the film prepared with the greatest ion bombardment intensity. Film thickness was observed to be a key parameter but the coating structure had a major effect on this result.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of (AlTi)xN1-x films by magnetic-field-enhanced high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Compared to conventional direct current magnetron sputtering, high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) gives rise to higher plasma activity which can be exploited to deposit films with the preferred microstructure and higher critical load, but in practice, most of the electrons are not effectively utilized and lost to the anode (chamber wall). In order to achieve higher ion flux to substrate and denser microstructure of the films, an external magnetic field is introduced. In our HiPIMS system, a coil around the magnetron target induces larger enhancement effects, and the substrate current can be increased by a factor of 2 or more if the proper current flows through the coil to intensify and confine the glow discharge. The magnetic-field-enhanced HiPIMS technology is adopted to produce (AlTi)xN1-x films with smooth surfaces and better mechanical properties such as surface hardness and a larger coil current produces films with lower friction. The improvement is attributed to enhanced glow discharge, more nitrogen incorporation, and intense ion bombardment.

Protective performance of Zr and Cr based silico-oxynitrides used for dental applications by means of potentiodynamic polarization and odd random phase multisine electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Zr and Cr based silico-oxynitrides were deposited on CoCr dental alloys by cathodic arc evaporation method, at two bias voltages. Potentiodynamic polarization and ORP-multisine EIS were employed to assess the performance of the coatings during 72h of immersion in artificial saliva. Enhanced corrosion resistance was exhibited by coatings deposited at higher bias voltage, ascribed to the beneficial effect of the more intense ion bombardment during the deposition, which determined a defect-free structure. Among them, ZrSiON200 coating exhibited the highest protective performance in time to the CoCr substrate ascribed to the formation of a stable passive layer inhibiting the corrosion.

Nanoimprinting of Ti–Cu-based thin-film metallic glasses deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

Abstract Thin-film metallic glasses (TFMGs) are an optimal material for nanoimprint technology. In this study, we prepared Ti–Cu–Zr–Ni–Hf–Si TFMG films by Ar ion bombardment using unbalanced magnetron sputtering (UBMS) and investigated the effect of nanoimprint temperature and deposition bias voltage on the thermal formability during nanoimprinting. The supercooled liquid region of the films increased with increasing Ar ion bombardment intensity. During nanoimprinting of the films deposited at −200 V using a Si mold with a pillar pattern, the hole depth of the nanoimprinted films increased with increasing nanoimprint temperature. During nanoimprinting of the films deposited with different bias voltages using a Si mold with a line and space pattern at 723 K, the line height of the nanoimprinted films increased with increasing bias voltage. This enhancement in the thermal formability was probably due to the decreasing viscosity of the film by Ar ion bombardment. In addition, the surfaces of the nanoimprinted films deposited using intense Ar ion bombardment were very smooth. Thus, Ar ion bombardment by UBMS is an effective method for fabricating TFMGs for nanoimprint technology.

Improvement of the properties and the adherence of DLC coatings deposited using a modified pulsed-DC PECVD technique and an additional cathode

Deposition of hard and adherent diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings employing an asymmetrical bipolar pulsed-DC PECVD system and an active screen that functioned as an additional cathode is presented. This novel system represents a step forward for thin coating growth by using much lower pressure (about 0.1Pa) in an almost collision-less regime, with higher plasma density than the conventional PECVD system. In order to overcome the low adherence of DLC coatings to 316 stainless steel substrates, a thin amorphous silicon interlayer was deposited as an interface. The interlayer was synthesized using silane as precursor gas and varying the applied DC bias voltage during deposition. The DLC coatings were produced using acetylene gas as the precursor. Both the amorphous silicon interlayers and the DLC films were analyzed according to their microstructural, mechanical, and tribological properties as a function of the applied substrate bias voltage. The film's atomic arrangements were estimated by means of Raman spectroscopy, while the hydrogen content was determined via elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA). The nanoindentation experiments helped determine the films' hardness and other nanomechanical parameters. The friction coefficient was determined using a tribometer in unlubricated sliding friction experiments, while the adhesion of the films was determined through a classic Rockwell C indentation test. The results showed an improvement of the properties and the adherence of the DLC coatings deposited using a modified experimental setup and an amorphous silicon interlayer. The composition, microstructure, and mechanical and tribological properties of the films were dependent on the applied DC bias voltage and, consequently, on the intensity of ion bombardment during coating growth. These results suggest that a combination of a modified pulsed-DC PECVD system, the use of an active screen as an additional cathode, and acetylene as a precursor gas for growing DLC films may represent a new and useful alternative for mechanical and tribological applications.