Mechanical Properties of Amorphous Hard Carbon Films Prepared by Cathodic ARC Deposition

Abstract

ABSTRACTCathodic arc deposition combined with macroparticle filtering of the plasma is an efficient and versatile method for the deposition of amorphous hard carbon films of high quality. The film properties can be tailored over a broad range by varying the energy of the carbon ions incident upon the substrate and upon the growing film by applying a pulsed bias technique. By varying the bias voltage during the deposition process specific properties of the interface, bulk film and top surface layer can be obtained. We report on nanoindentation and transmission electron microscopy studies as well as stress measurements of cathodic-arc amorphous hard carbon films deposited with varied bias voltage. The investigations were performed on multilayers consisting of alternating hard and soft amorphous carbon.