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

Abstract

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 coupled plasma (ICP) and sputter deposition. a-C:H coatings have been fabricated by ICP assisted CVD in inert/hydrocarbon gas mixtures while Ti–C:H coatings have been fabricated by ICP assisted magnetron sputtering of Ti in inert/hydrocarbon gas mixtures. We present results of structural characterization and mechanical property measurements on these a-C:H and Ti–C:H coatings. In particular, the influence of hydrogen on the coating mechanical properties 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 considered for a full understanding of the mechanical properties of Ti–C:H coatings. Our results demonstrate that combining ICP with sputter deposition makes a versatile CVD/PVD tool capable of depositing metal-free and metal-containing hydrocarbon coatings with widely varying microstructures and mechanical properties.