Mechanical properties of PECVD hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings via nanoindentation and nanoscratching techniques

The good combination of chemical and physical properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) coatings makes them suitable for tribological, biomedical and microelectronic applications. In this work, nano-indentation and nano-scratching tests have been used to determine the mechanical properties...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Surface & coatings technology 2004-03, Vol.180, p.259-264
Main Authors: Bruno, P, Cicala, G, Losacco, A.M, Decuzzi, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
a-C:H films
Mechanical properties
Nano-indentation
Nano-scratching
PECVD
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Summary:The good combination of chemical and physical properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) coatings makes them suitable for tribological, biomedical and microelectronic applications. In this work, nano-indentation and nano-scratching tests have been used to determine the mechanical properties of a-C:H films produced via plasma chemical vapour deposition from CH 4–Ar gas mixtures. A capacitive ion-etching reactor has been used for film deposition with a bias and a mixture composition ranging between 0 V and −400 V and 21.4% and 100%, respectively. The variation of Young's modulus (E) and hardness (H) through film thickness has been assessed by continuous multi-cycle indentations, and sub-surface maxima of approximately 150 GPa and 20 GPa have been measured, respectively. A maximum critical load ( L c ) for film delamination of approximately 170 mN has been estimated by nano-scratching. A discussion on bias voltage and mixture composition effect on E, H and L c is presented.
ISSN:0257-8972
1879-3347
DOI:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2003.10.035