Deposition of tin containing carbon amorphous composite films by thermionic vacuum arc technique

The paper presents the synthesis of Sn-containing carbon amorphous composite films deposited by the thermionic vacuum arc technique. The chemical composition, morphology, microstructure and crystallographic properties of the films were investigated by energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The friction coefficients of the prepared films analyzed by a CSM ball-on-disk tribometer sliding against sapphire balls in dry conditions at room temperature were found to be 0.12 to 0.14, which is two to four times lower than that of the substrate material.