Investigation of the Chemical Composition of Films Obtained by Electric Arc Spraying of Graphite and Titanium from Two Sources

Abstract

A promising material for cold cathodes creation are carbon films with both acceptable emission properties and satisfactory adhesion to the substrate. It is known that inclusions of metallic elements (chromium, titanium, etc.) improve the adhesion of the carbon film to the substrate. One of the methods for producing coatings based on carbon and titanium is electric arc spraying of a Ti/C composite cathode in an argon atmosphere. The disadvantage of this method is the presence in the total plasma flow of carbon microparticles, which are sources of structural defects in the growing film. Magnetic separation of carbon plasma solves the above problem. In this work, composite metal-carbon films were obtained by simultaneous electric arc spraying of graphite in a magnetic field and of titanium from two evaporators. The composition of the films was studied by Raman spectroscopy (RS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It has been established that the samples obtained are composite films consisting of graphite nanoparticles, Ti14C13 nanoclusters or Ti8C12, titanium oxides, and titanium carbide TiCxN1–x compounds.