CHARACTERIZATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF MID-FREQUENCY PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITED CARBON-FILMS USING RESPONSE-SURFACE METHODOLOGY

Thin carbon films have been deposited by decomposition of methane in a methane-argon plasma created by a pulsed mid-frequency (450 kHz) symm etrical discharge at relatively high pressures of 0.5-1 Torr. Differen t combinations of pressure, deposition temperature, gas composition an d plasma power were used as process parameters. The films have subsequ ently been characterized with respect to properties that are of intere st in the deposition of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films, such as wear resistance, optical band gap and film thickness. Response surface meth odology has been employed to obtain a model for the dependence of thes e film properties on the deposition parameters and to find an optimum parameter region for depositing films with required properties. (C) 19 97 Elsevier Science S.A.