Studies on the influence of sputtering power on amorphous carbon films deposited by pulsed unbalanced magnetron sputtering
TL;DR: In this article, amorphous carbon (a-C) films were deposited by pulsed unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique under different sputtering powers from 100 to 220 W. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis suggest that the film thickness of a-C films increases with the increase of sputtering power.
About: This article is published in Optik.The article was published on 2016-03-01. It has received 18 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: High-power impulse magnetron sputtering & Sputter deposition.
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TL;DR: In this paper, graphite-like carbon (GLC) films with different thickness were deposited on 316 L stainless steel using closed field unbalanced magnetron sputtering system to investigate the influence of film thickness on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties.
27 citations
Cites methods from "Studies on the influence of sputter..."
...Deposition parameters such as target currents [10], substrate bias [14, 15] and power densities [9, 15, 16], are the most common adjustable variables used to optimize the structure and properties of amorphous carbon films....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the cause-effect relation between the mid-frequency magnetron sputtering parameters on the structural and mechanical properties of amorphous carbon (a-C) films.
16 citations
TL;DR: Amorphous carbon films containing oxygen and bismuth were deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering as discussed by the authors, and the microstructure and optical properties of the films were measured by atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman analysis, UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometry and null-ellipsometry.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated if the increased density of the plasma in High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) argon discharge would give the possibility of obtaining diamond-like films with high sp3 fraction content at room temperature.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the optical-electrical properties of amorphous silicon thin film are investigated under different fabrication conditions (sputtering power, working pressure, working temperature) and the results indicate that the deposition rate increases remarkably from 1.88 to 8.74 nm/min with the sputtering power increasing from 60 W to 120 W, while the light transmission rate decreases from 86% to 46% in the visible spectrum range (390 nm to 780 nm).
Abstract: Amorphous silicon (a-Si) has gained its popularity in thin film solar cell fabrication for its high absorption coefficient, high applicability on flexible substrates and practical feasibility for low-cost roll-to-roll mass fabrication. Working as the intrinsic layer, the optical-electrical characteristics of amorphous silicon film is crucial to the cell performance. In this work, the amorphous silicon film has been fabricated on PET substrate by magnetron sputtering method. The main optical-electrical characteristics have been systematically investigated under different fabrication conditions (sputtering power, working pressure, working temperature). The results indicate that the deposition rate increases remarkably from 1.88 to 8.74 nm/min with the sputtering power increasing from 60 W to 120 W, while the light transmission rate decreases from 86% to 46% in the visible spectrum range (390 nm to 780 nm). Theoretical calculations have been carried out, showing a decreasing deposition rate under an increasing working pressure. A rising temperature provides a higher deposition rate and lower transmittance in the certain range. The optimized processing parameters in the fabrication of amorphous silicon thin film are obtained for high photoelectric property on flexible substrates.
10 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the deposition methods, deposition mechanisms, characterisation methods, electronic structure, gap states, defects, doping, luminescence, field emission, mechanical properties and some applications of diamond-like carbon.
Abstract: Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a metastable form of amorphous carbon with significant sp3 bonding. DLC is a semiconductor with a high mechanical hardness, chemical inertness, and optical transparency. This review will describe the deposition methods, deposition mechanisms, characterisation methods, electronic structure, gap states, defects, doping, luminescence, field emission, mechanical properties and some applications of DLCs. The films have widespread applications as protective coatings in areas, such as magnetic storage disks, optical windows and micro-electromechanical devices (MEMs).
5,400 citations
TL;DR: Magnetron sputtering has become the process of choice for the deposition of a wide range of industrially important coatings, such as hard, wear-resistant, low friction, corrosion resistant, and decorative coatings as discussed by the authors.
1,640 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the development and broad potential of hard a-C coatings deposited by direct and filtered (FCVAE) cathodic arc evaporation, including pulsed arc, is highlighted.
Abstract: Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited by cathodic vacuum arc evaporation (CVAE) have attracted worldwide interest from research groups and industry since the beginning of the 1990s. Hydrogen-free amorphous carbon (a-C) coatings were first deposited by CVAE about two decades after the first description of hydrogenated a-C coatings (a-C:H) deposited by glow-discharge techniques. This paper highlights the development and broad potential of hard a-C coatings deposited by direct (DCVAE) and filtered (FCVAE) cathodic arc evaporation, including pulsed arc. DLC films offer a wide range of exceptional physical (optical, electrical), chemical (interaction with media), mechanical (hardness, elastic modulus), biomedical and tribological properties. Monolithic tetrahedrally-bonded hydrogen-free coatings (ta-C) provide the highest hardness, while various softer a-C coatings are also useful in some applications. Many film properties such as electrical conductivity and surface energy can be modified by alloying with elements such as H, N, Si, B, F, P and metals. Recent research and industrial solutions for generating DLC coatings by CVAE of carbon-based cathodes are described, and hybrid methods using metal cathodes and gas-phase sources are discussed. Coatings containing additional elements and having complex architectures are also discussed, and selected properties for various coating types are presented. The number of industrial applications of ta-C and a-C coatings continues to increase, mainly for tribological coatings to reduce wear and friction. Various applications of coatings deposited by CVAE are described, including data hard disks, engine parts, razor blades, valve seals, decorative coatings, cutting and forming tools, biomedical products and others.
362 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the present understanding of diamond-like carbon growth mechanisms and discuss the correlation between the deposition parameters (e.g., species energy, substrate temperature, substrate material, angle of incidence, deposition rate and environment) and the film properties (density, surface morphology, sp 3 /sp 2 ratio) studied using a host of experimental methods.
284 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the correlation of electrical, optical and nano-mechanical properties of argon-diluted diamond-like carbon (Ar-DLC) thin films with sp3 and sp2 fractions of carbon have been explored.
109 citations