IONS AS A USEFUL TOOL FOR CARBON-FILM DEPOSITION AND MODIFICATION

This work demonstrates the potential of inert ions as a useful tool fo r carbon film deposition and modification. At first, the possibility o f using a computer controlled ion assisted evaporation (IAE) system fo r a systematic investigation of carbon film formation will be discusse d. For a better understanding of growth mechanisms the particle fluxes to the substrate were studied with ion probes and quadrupole mass spe ctroscopy. The effect of the additional ion bombardment on the resulti ng films (surface topography, microstructure and microhardness) is sho wn. The results will be discussed in the light of possible ion-solid i nteractions affecting the growth. Furthermore, the ion-based modificat ion of the surface topography, bulk and surface structure is shown. An example demonstrates the potential of ion induced patterning of diamo nd resulting in an enhanced cold field emission current.