Structural alteration induced by substrate bias voltage variation in diamond-like carbon films fabricated by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

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.

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Influences of optical emission settings on wear performance of metal-doped diamond-like carbon films deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

Thin Solid Films ◽

10.1016/s0040-6090(01)00976-2 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 392 (1) ◽

pp. 11-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Da-Yung Wang ◽

Chi-Lung Chang

Keyword(s):

Magnetron Sputtering ◽

Optical Emission ◽

Carbon Films ◽

Diamond Like Carbon ◽

Wear Performance ◽

Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering ◽

Unbalanced Magnetron ◽

Metal Doped

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Effect of Substrate Bias Voltage on the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Low Concentration Ti-Containing Diamond Like Carbon Films

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.182-183.232 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 182-183 ◽

pp. 232-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jin Feng Cui ◽

Li Qiang ◽

Bin Zhang ◽

Xiao Ling ◽

Jun Yan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Bias Voltage ◽

Carbon Films ◽

Diamond Like Carbon ◽

Substrate Bias ◽

Low Friction ◽

Substrate Bias Voltage ◽

Mechanical And Tribological Properties ◽

Si Substrates ◽

Argon Mixture ◽

Hardness Values

Ti containing hydrogenated diamond like carbon films (Ti-DLC) was deposited on Si substrates at room temperature by magnetron sputtering Ti-twin target in methane and argon mixture atmosphere via changing the substrate bias voltage. The Ti atomic concentration in the film is less than 0.57% and exists mainly in the form of metallic titanium rather than TiC, confirmed by XPS analysis. The internal compressive stress of the film decreases monotonically with the substrate bias voltage increase. However, the hardness values of the film keep at level (12 GPa) without almost any obvious change with the increase of the substrate bias voltage. Furthermore, Ti-containing DLC film prepared at -1600 V substrate bias voltage shows an extremely low wear rate (~10-9mm3/Nm) and low friction coefficient (0.09).

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