Characterization of Hard Diamond-Like Carbon Films Formed by Ar Gas Cluster Ion Beam-Assisted Fullerene Deposition

Abstract

The coordination of carbon atoms in diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films formed by Ar gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) assisted deposition using fullerene as the carbon source was investigated by measuring near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of the carbon K-edge over the excitation energy range 275–320 eV, using synchrotron radiation. With attention to the peak corresponding to the transition of the excitation electron from a carbon 1s orbital to a π* orbital, relative sp2 contents of various DLC films were estimated. The sp2 contents of the DLC films formed by the GCIB-assisted deposition were observed to be lower than those of the DLC films formed by other methods. The hardness value measured with a nano-indentation technique was found to be strongly related to the sp2 content of the DLC film.