Diamond-like carbon thin films with high density and low internal stress deposited by coupling DC/RF magnetron sputtering

- Diamond like carbon films were deposited by coupling DC/RF magnetron sputtering.
- The films prepared have high mass density and low internal stress.
- The diamond like carbon films were deposited will be used in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments.

Diamond like carbon films (DLC) with high density and low internal stress are urgent demand for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. DLC films were deposited on Si-(100) substrates by coupling DC/RF magnetron sputtering with Ar as the working gas. The microstructure, mass density and internal stress of the DLC films have been studied. The films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Reflectivity (XRR), surface profilometer, atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), scratch test and nanoindentation techniques. It is found that the DLC films deposited by coupling DC/RF magnetron sputtering have relatively high mass density (2.25-2.36 g/cm3) and low internal stress (lower than 0.3 GPa) compared to those prepared by conventional deposition process. The results indicate that properties of the as-deposited DLC films are strongly dependent on the ion energy which is determined by the DC voltage. It suggests that the DLC films deposited by coupling DC/RF magnetron sputtering at optimum DC voltage could be potential candidate for ICF experiments and protective coating applications.

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