Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured a-C:H (Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon) Thin Films by Gaseous Thermionic Vacuum Arc (G-TVA) Deposition Technique

The aim of this contribution is to present the properties of the nanostructured hydrogenated carbon thin films and to study their growth carried out in a special deposition technique based on Thermionic Vacuum Arc method. The Gaseous Thermionic Vacuum Arc (G-TVA) technology is an original deposition method performed in a special configuration, consisting of a heated thermionic cathode which provides an electron beam on the anode. The surface free energy was evaluated by contact angle and their optical properties were studied by Filmetrics F20 spectrometry system. Structure of the film has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy as well as the mechanical properties like hardness, wear resistance, film-substrate adhesion. The films showed two distinct Raman characteristic peaks located at 1,350 cm −1 (D-line) and 1,550 cm −1 (G-line), broad for Si and very sharp for glass substrates. The G-TVA enables to prepare soft (hardness ~6 GPa) or hard (~24 GPa) films.