Molybdenum–carbon film fabricated using metal cathodic arc and acetylene dual plasma deposition

Metal cathodic arc and acetylene dual plasma deposition is used to synthesize molybdenum-containing diamond-like carbon (Mo-DLC) thin films. The Mo contents in the film layer can be controlled by varying the acetylene gas flow rates and the substrate bias voltages. The Mo-doped film prepared by the above technique exhibits small surface roughness. Fine molybdenum carbide grains are found to be embedded inside the amorphous carbon cross-linked structures. In addition, these films are shown to possess high thermal stability after a series of high temperature annealing. The results show that dual plasma deposition is a useful and effective technique to fabricate metal-incorporated carbon thin films with controlled metal contents.