Wüest M. 51 Wykes M. 82 Yamaguchi M. 17 Ybarra G. 129 Yubero F ...

JUNE 26 MONDAY AFTERNOON
ETCHC-MoA-OR.9 CHANGES DETECTED IN ECR-CVD AMORPHOUSAND NI-
TROGENATED AMORPHOUS CARBON FILMS BY INCREASING PLASMA ION ION
ENERGY. J.G. Buijnsters, M. Camero, L. Vázquez, C. Gómez-Aleixandre, J.M. Albella, Instituto
Ciencia de Materiales, CSIC, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and nitrogenated amorphous carbon (a-CN:H) thin films
may present interesting properties like high smoothness, low friction coefficient, high hardness and
high wear resistance which make them excellent candidates for different applications. a-C:H and a-
CN:H films have been grown from methane/argon and methane/nitrogen/argon gas mixtures respectively
by Electron Cyclotron Resonance Chemical Vapour Deposition (ECR-CVD). During the
deposition process, a negative DC bias voltage was applied to the substrate in order to obtain high
energy ions arriving at the growing surface. The effect of the ion energy on the structural, morphological
and mechanical properties of the films has been explored by multiple analysis techniques.
The obtained results clearly show a sharp change in the properties of the a-C:H and a-CN:H layers
from a threshold ion energy in the order of 100 eV for the production of hard, low-friction coatings.
For no bias application or bias voltages more positive than –100 V, cauliflower shaped and relatively
soft polymeric (nitrogenated) carbon films are formed. The change in the properties of the films deposited
in the two distinct deposition regimes has been associated with the new nanostructure of the
films detected by surface analysis techniques.
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