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Development of gas-injected pulsed plasma CVD method using Ar/C2H2 mixed gas for ultra-high-rate diamond-like carbon deposition

MetadataDetails
Publication Date2023-05-11
JournalJapanese Journal of Applied Physics
AuthorsToru Harigai, Hikaru Ohhra, T. Bando, Hirofumi Takikawa, Shinsuke Kunitsugu
InstitutionsIndustrial Technology Center of Okayama Prefecture, OSG (Japan)

Abstract A diamond-like carbon (DLC) fabrication method with a greater deposition rate and simple equipment configuration facilitates to introduce DLC coating technology to industrial processes. In this study, a gas-injected pulsed plasma CVD method using a single plasma source is proposed as an ultra-high-rate deposition method for DLC films. A gas mixture of Ar and C 2 H 2 was injected into a vacuum chamber through a gas nozzle, and plasma in the chamber was generated by applying a negative pulse voltage to the substrate stage. The gas velocity in the chamber was calculated using computational fluid dynamics simulations. DLC films with a nanoindentation hardness of 17.5 GPa were fabricated on a limited area of a Si substrate at a deposition rate of 2480 nm min āˆ’1 . The deposition rate of the DLC films can be further improved by optimizing the conditions of the Ar partial pressure ratio, gas velocity, and stage applied voltage.