ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with the deposition techniques and properties of carbon films with "diamond-like" properties. The extremely varied methods of preparation have produced, as might be expected, films with a very broad spectrum of properties. Plasma-deposited carbon films are but one category of carbon films. It is useful to briefly review the literature of these films in relation to materials prepared by other methods in order to develop a better understanding of the differences and relationships among the different forms of carbon. The chapter discusses two methods for the deposition of carbon films, i.e., the growth of films from ion beams and film deposition by glow discharge techniques. The growth of carbon films in a hydrocarbon glow discharge is conceptually similar to deposition using hydrocarbon ion beams. The most useful macroscopic properties for categorizing the various types of carbon films are elemental composition and density. A very wide range of conductivities of carbon films has been observed.