Quaziamorphous carbon and carbon nitride films deposited from the plasma of pulsed cathodic arc discharge

Cathodic are discharge allows deposition of hydrogen-free quaziamorphous ca rbon films with a aide range of properties. The amount of sp(3)-bonded frac tion can be up to 80 at.%, depending on the deposition conditions. This pap er presents a summary of the characterization of carbon and carbon nitride thin films prepared by the cathodic are discharge method operating in pulse d mode. The influence of the discharge parameters on the film's structure a nd properties is described. Partial attention is paid to the analysis of fi lms by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. A comparison of resu lts for different plasma sources design is conducted. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.