Correlations between process parameters and film properties of diamond-like carbon films formed by hydrocarbon plasma immersion ion implantation

Plasma immersion ion implantation with hydrocarbon gases (HC-PIII) leads to both carbon implantation and carbon thin film deposition. The films are diamond-like carbon (DLC), mostly amorphous carbon with hydrogen (a-C:H). In the present review, examples from the literature on the deposition of HC-PIII DLC films are discussed. The process parameters of HC-PIII, including bias voltage, plasma-forming gas, and experimental setup, are correlated with the properties of the DLC film, such as bonding characteristics, hardness, stress state, and the resulting tribological performance, as shown in friction and wear tests.