Synthesis of highly tetrahedral amorphous carbon by mixed-mode HiPIMS sputtering

Tetrahedral amorphous carbon films with an sp 3 content of 80% have been produced by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) operating in a mixed sputtering/arc mode. In this mode, short-lived cathode spots form in the magnetic racetrack and produce large numbers of carbon ions. The spots move rapidly, inhibiting the formation of macroparticles. An argon pressure below 2.5 mTorr was critical for obtaining films with high sp 3 content, high stress, large Tauc gap and symmetrical Raman spectra, and all four quantities were strongly correlated.

Citation

Ganesan, R. and McCulloch, D. and Marks, N. and Tucker, M. and Partridge, J. and Bilek, M. and McKenzie, D. 2015. Synthesis of highly tetrahedral amorphous carbon by mixed-mode HiPIMS sputtering. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 48 (44): Article ID 2001.

Source Title

Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics

DOI

10.1088/0022-3727/48/44/442001

ISSN

0022-3727

School

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Remarks

This is an author-created, un-copy edited version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/48/44/442001

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18045

Collection

Curtin Research Publications