Paper SS+EM+PS+TF-ThA9
DLC Films by Modified HiPIMS with Effect from Pulse Parameters on Plasma Parameters and Film Quality

Thursday, October 25, 2018, 5:00 pm, Room 102A

Diamond like carbon (DLC) films have made waves as of late in many industries. DLC provides a high strength low friction surface with the potential for high chemical resistivity. High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) is a promising physical vapor deposition (PVD) that creates high ionization fractions at the substrate using high power pulses over low duty factors. The resulting high plasma densities (as high as 10¹⁹ m^-3) creates ionization fractions of sputtered material at the target surface. The increase in energy of atoms due to high ionization rates at the substrate yields higher density and smoother films. In combination with a positive polarity pulse to drive ions to the substrate surface, the DLC film hardness can be increased while producing a smoother film surface.

By introducing a larger ion flux, determined through a gridded energy analyzer, the ratio of sp³ bonded carbon to sp² is presented for a multitude of parameters. This work explores not only the use of positive polarity pulses, but the effect of pulse parameters, has on film hardness and morphology. By controlling the deposition rate through pulse width and repetition rate while controlling deposition energy increases by approximately 5% in sp³ fraction were observed while surface roughness decreased by a factor of 4 for a non-hydrogenated amorphous carbon film by just the introduction of a positive polarity pulse. Further increases are reported through fine tuning the discharge parameters while looking at plasma densities, ion fraction, surface roughness, sp³ fraction, and hardness for DLC on silicon substrates.