Formation of Diamond Like Carbon by a Pure Carbon Arc Under High Vacuum

The are discharge plasma of solid carbon has been applied to the formation of hard carbon thin films. A double-mesh electrode is placed at the exit of the sharply directed are plasma column confined in the magnetic bottle. The radio frequency voltage applied to the electrode is effective to diverge the plasma column radially to form a uniform plasma in front of the substrate and also to remove macroparticles. The characteristics of the obtained film are examined using Raman spectra and other techniques.