Characterization of hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films by end-Hall ion beam deposition

▶ We studied α-C thin films deposited by End-Hall (EH) ion beam at 24∼48 eV. ▶ The films are smooth and uniform on a large scale and intrinsically particulate-free. ▶ The films have reasonably high hardness and Young's modulus. ▶ The hardness and Young's modulus increase with the increase of ion energy. ▶ The films may be used as protective coatings in magnetic disk storage technology.