Properties of flexible DLC film deposited by amplitude-modulated RF P-CVD

The flexible DLC film is one of the novel techniques to deposit the DLC film on polymer materials such as rubber and resin, which does not cause any peeling-off of the film even with the deformation of the substrates. It was found that the DLC film deposited by modulated RF plasma-CVD has the features of (1) small friction, (2) small wear (less than Teflon), (3) high water repellency (90° contact angle for pure water), (4) good insulation characteristic (surface resistance on the order of 1012 Ω cm), (5) less peeling-off due to expansion and contraction of the polymer material, and (6) deposition at lower temperatures (below 80°). This new DLC film is applied to the rubber seal ring (O-ring) for zoom lens system of 35 mm compact cameras. The flexible DLC technique is expected to expand itself and to create wider applications of DLC films.