Room temperature diamond-like carbon coatings produced by low energy ion implantation

Nanometre-smooth diamond-like carbon coatings (DLC) were produced at room temperature with ion implantation using 6 kV C₃H_y⁺ ion beams. Ion beam analysis measurements showed that the coatings contain no heavy Z impurities at the level of 100 ppm, have a homogeneous stoichiometry in depth and a hydrogen concentration of typically 25 at.%. High resolution TEM analysis showed high quality and atomically flat amorphous coatings on wafer silicon. Combined TEM and RBS analysis gave a coating density of 3.25 g cm⁻³. Raman spectroscopy was performed to probe for sp²/sp³ bonds in the coatings. The results indicate that low energy ion implantation with 6 kV produces hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings with a sp³ content of about 20%. Results highlight the opportunity of developing room temperature DLC coatings with ion beam technology for industrial applications