Study of TiC/a-C thin films growth by cathodic arc discharge varying the substrate temperature

TiC thin films were grown on 304 stainless steel substrates using the cathodic arc discharge (CAD) technique. Titanium (6N) was placed in the cathodic electrode and the substrate was placed on the anode, besides this electrode is a furnace. The substrate temperature was varied between 50 and 250 deg. C with increases of 50 deg. C. For producing the discharge, a critical damping RLC (C=0.54 mF, L=2.3 mH and R=0.46 mΩ) circuit was employed. To grow the TiC films, methane was used at a pressure of 3 mbar and a discharge voltage of 270 V. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the TiC-phase with broad peaks and low intensities, however, the films have a crystallographic texture coefficient for (111)-orientation. Using the Scherrer equation both the crystallite size and microstrain were determined. The crystallite size increased as a function of substrate temperature. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique, amorphous carbon and TiC were identified. Profiler depth was realized for identifying the distribution of both compounds in the film.