Microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition of diamond like carbon thin films

Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) films (a-C:H) due to their extreme properties have attracted a lot of attention. The properties of this non crystalline material cover a wide range and are intermediate between the properties of diamond, graphite and hydrocarbon polymers. The properties depend on the experimental parameters. Under appropriate deposition condition very hard, chemically inert and optically transparent films can be prepared. Diamond like carbon films have been deposited by low pressure Microwave Induced Plasma Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) process. The parameters have been optimized to get DLC films on the substrate like s.s/m.s., Copper and Cu-Be. The deposited films have been characterized by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The corrosion resistance of the films was found to be excellent. FTIR characterization indicates that the carbon is bonded in the sp(3) form with hydrogen participating in bonding. Raman spectra confirms the DLC characteristics of the films. In this paper experimental details and results are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.