Development of a-C:H coatings doped with trimethylsilyl acetate prepared using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Diamond and Related Materials |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925963524004461 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2024.111233 |
| Keywords | Trimethylsilyl acetate; PECVD; Nanoindentation; FTIR; & Oslash;S |
| Description | The main aim of the present study was to develop hard a-C:H:SiOx coatings prepared from the unique gaseous mixture of trimethylsilyl acetate (TMSAc) with methane using plasma of RF capacitively coupled glow discharge. Studied coatings were prepared using different methane ratios in TMSAc/CH4 gaseous mixtures ranging from 7.1 % to 85.7 %. Simultaneously, the influence of the power supplied to the discharge (25–100 W) on the properties of resulting coatings was investigated. The presented research work discusses in detail the evolution of chemical composition, mechanical characteristics, and optical properties of resulting coatings depending on variable CH4 ratio and discharge power. Within this study, various materials with the smooth surface structure were achieved. Applying low CH4 ratio and 25 W power led to the formation of soft SiOx CyHz coatings with high content of Si–O and –CH3 groups exhibiting hardness of approx. 0.95 GPa. Gradually increasing the CH4 ratio and discharge power up to the specified limit values (85 % and 100 W, respectively) induced structural changes, resulting in a-C:H:SiOx coatings with a remarkable hardness of 11 GPa and excellent fracture resistance. These attributes are of utmost importance in numerous industrial applications, including anticorrosive coatings, low-friction wear-resistant coatings to prolong the lifetime of car engines, biocompatible coatings, components for plastic molds, as well as parts for optical disc molds and textile machinery. |
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