The Effects of Negative Carbon Ion Beam Energy on the Properties of DLC Film

The effects of negative carbon ion beam energy on the bonding configuration, hardness and surface roughness of DLC film prepared by a direct metal ion beam deposition system were investigated. As the negative carbon ion beam energy increased from 25 to 150 eV, the $sp^3$ fraction of DLC films was increased from 32 to 67%, while the surface roughness was decreased. The films prepared at 150 eV showed the more flat surface morphology of the film than that of the film prepared under another ion beam energy conditions. Surface roughness of DLC film varied from 0.62 to 0.22 nm with depositing carbon ion beam energy. Surface nano-hardness increased from 12 to 57 Gpa when increasing the negative carbon ion beam energy from 25 to 150 eV, and then decreased when increasing the ion beam energy from 150 to 200 eV.