Ultrathin diamondlike carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs

Ultrathin (<5 nm) hard carbon films are of great interest to the magnetic storage industry as the areal density approaches 100 Gb/in ². These films can be used as overcoats to protect the magnetic layer. Tetrahedrally bonded amorphous carbon (ta-C) films can be produced by filtered cathodic arc deposition, however, these films will be accepted by the storage industry only if the “macroparticle” issue can be solved. Better plasma filters have been developed. Emphasis is put on the promising Twist Filter system, a compact, open-architecture structure that operates with very high current (>1 kA) in a pulsed mode. Macroparticle elimination is virtually achieved while plasma throughput is very high. Ultrathin ta-C films have been synthesized using S-filter and Twist Filter systems. Film properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, wear and corrosion resistance have been tested