Effects of negative bias voltage on structure and mechanical properties of DLC films synthesized by FCVA deposition

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been given great attention in the last twenty years and applied in many fields due to its super mechanical property. In this paper, DLC films were prepared by filter cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition under different negative bias voltage. No spalling was found in all of as-prepared DLC films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectra were employed to analyze composition and structure, the results showed that as-prepared DLC films had tendency of graphite with increase of negative bias voltage. Mechanical properties were characterized by micro-hardness and pin-on disc tests, the results showed that the hardness of DLC films decreased with bias voltage, but still kept good wear resistant.