Low-stress diamond-like carbon films containing carbon nanoparticles fabricated by combining rf sputtering and plasma chemical vapor deposition

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics Vol. 59; no. 10; pp. 100906 - 100909
• Main Authors: Hwang, Sung-Hwa, Okumura, Takamasa, Kamataki, Kunihiro, Itagaki, Naho, Koga, Kazunori, Nakatani, Tatsuyuki, Shiratani, Masaharu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo IOP Publishing 01.10.2020; Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
• Subjects: Carbon; Carbon nanoparticle; Chemical vapor deposition; Diamond-like carbon film; Diamond-like carbon films; Nanoparticles; Plasma chemical vapor deposition; Raman spectroscopy; Residual stress; rf sputtering; Spherical plasmas; Sputtering
• ISSN: 0021-4922; 1347-4065
• DOI: 10.35848/1347-4065/abbb20

Carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) incorporated diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been fabricated by a combination of rf sputtering and plasma chemical vapor deposition. Spherical CNPs with a mean size of 21.2 nm are sandwiched between DLC layers with a mass density of 1.7 g cm−3. The film stress is decreased to 119 MPa, by depositing the CNPs over the base DLC layer at a surface coverage of 10.7%. This reduction is approximately half of that without CNPs. Raman spectroscopy indicates the insertion of CNPs barely alters the bonding structure of the upper DLC layer.