Inductively coupled plasma assisted deposition and mechanical properties of metal-free and Ti-containing hydrocarbon coatings

Metal-free amorphous hydrocarbon (a-C:H) and Ti-containing hydrocarbon (Ti- C:H) coatings have been synthesized in a hybrid chemical vapor deposition ( CVD)/physical vapor deposition (PVD) system which combines inductively coup led plasma (ICP) and sputter deposition. a-C:H coatings have been fabricate d by ICP assisted CVD in inert/hydrocarbon gas mixtures while Ti-C:H coatin gs have been fabricated by ICP assisted magnetron sputtering of Ti in inert /hydrocarbon gas mixtures. We present results of structural characterizatio n and mechanical property measurements on these a-C:H and Ti-C:H coatings. In particular, the influence of hydrogen on the coating mechanical properti es is probed experimentally. We show that hydrogen significantly influences the mechanical properties of a-C:H and Ti-C:H coatings and needs to be con sidered for a full understanding of the mechanical properties of Ti-C:H coa tings. Our results demonstrate that combining ICP with sputter deposition m akes a versatile CVD/PVD tool capable of depositing metal-free and metal-co ntaining hydrocarbon coatings with widely varying microstructures and mecha nical properties. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)05 406-2].