High rate deposition of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films by hollow cathode arc PECVD

► Acetylene is strongly depleted in a magnetically enhanced hollow cathode arc plasma. ► Dissociation and polymerization products have been detected by mass spectrometry. ► Amorphous hydrogenated carbon films have been grown with rates up to 1 μm/min. ► The film with maximum hardness of 18.2 GPa shows dense morphology in the SEM picture. ► The film composition has been examined by elastic recoil detection analysis.