DLC by PVD-CVD Process from a Hydrocarbon Source

In the PVO-CVD process, the carbon source is a hydrocarbon gas instead of the solid carbon target of the purely PVD process. The same activation methods (ion-beam sputtering, laser, glow-discharge, or others) eu e used but a-C H is deposited instead of a-C. 

Deposition by Ion-Beam Activation. A typical ion-beam activated system has a 30 cm holiow-cathode ion source with its optics masked to 10 cm. Argon is introduced to establish the discharge followed by methane in a 28/100 ratio of methane moiecules to argon atoms. The energy level is 100 eV, the acceleration voltage is 600 V, and the resulting deposition rate is 0.5/rm/h. 

A similar system has a dual ion-beam. A primary beam sputters carbon while the growing film is being simultaneously bombarded with argon ions generated from a second ion source.l l Another system is based on a microwave discharge generated by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR).0 IPo] ji g principle of ECR is described in Ch. 13, Sec. 3.3. 

---