Deposition and properties of Al-containing diamond-like carbon films by a hybrid ion beam sources

Metal incorporation is one of the most effective methods for relaxing internal stress in diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. It was reported that the chemical state of the incorporated metal atoms has a significant influence on the film internal stress. The doped atoms embedding in the DLC matrix without bonding with C atoms can reduce the structure disorder of the DLC films through bond angle distortion and thus relax the internal stress of the films. In present paper, Al atoms, which are inert to carbon, were incorporated into the DLC films deposited by a hybrid ion beams system comprising an anode-layer ion source and a magnetron sputtering unit. The film composition, microstructure and atomic bond structure were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The internal stress, mechanical properties and tribogoical behavior were studied as a function of Al concentration using a stress-tester, nanoindentation and ball-on-disc tribo-tester, respectively. The results indicated that the incorporated Al atoms were dissolved in the DLC matrix without bonding with C atoms and the films exhibited the feature of amorphous carbon. The structure disorder of the films tended to decrease with Al atoms incorporation. This resulted in the distinct reduction of the internal stress in the films. All Al-DLC films exhibited a lower friction coefficient compared with pure DLC film. The formation of the transfer layer and the graphitization induced by friction were expected to contribute to the excellent friction performance.

Research highlights
► Weak carbide former, Al element, was incorporated into DLC films using a hybrid ion beams system comprising an anode-layer ion source and a magnetron sputtering unit.
► The structure disorder of the films tended to decrease with Al atoms doping, which resulted in the distinct reduction of the film internal stress and hardness, but the internal stress dropped faster than the hardness.
► The DLC films with low internal stress and high hardness can be acquired by Al incorporation.