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Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films
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Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2021) | Viewed by 28035

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sarunas Meskinis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Materials Science, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: diamond-like carbon; diamond-like carbon nanocomposites; direct synthesis of graphene; carbon nanomaterials for photosensors and photovoltaics; Schottky diode-based devices; piezoresistive properties; surface plasmon resonance; optical properties; plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition; ion beam deposition; magnetron sputtering; reactive magnetron sputtering; high power impulse magnetron sputtering
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to submit original research papers to the Special Issue of the Materials journal entitled “Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films".
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a metastable amorphous allotrope of carbon. It consists of carbon atoms bonded by sp3-type bonds (like in diamond) and sp2-type bonds (like in graphite). Hydrogenated DLC films may contain up to 40 at.% of hydrogen. These films are grown by different plasma-based methods.
DLC films have received considerable interest from researchers because of the intriguing combination of the mechanical, optical, electrical, and piezoresistive properties and biocompatibility. Properties of the films can be additionally controlled by doping them with different chemical elements. The range of DLC applications is very broad—from car engines toPC hard disks and beer bottles.
The aim of this Special Issue is to present the most recent and most significant research related with this important area. Topics covered include but are not limited to:
  • Novel deposition methods of diamond-like carbon films and related nanocomposites, such as high-power impulse magnetron sputtering;
  • Deposition effects on the structure and composition of different DLC films and nanocomposites;
  • Mechanical, optical, electrical, piezoresistive, biomedical properties of DLC;
  • DLC films and DLC nanocomposites for sensor and electronic, as well as optoelectronic device applications.

Dr. Sarunas Meskinis 
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Diamond-like carbon
  • Diamond-like carbon nanocomposites
  • Mechanical and tribological properties
  • Optical properties and plasmonics
  • Electrical properties and piezoresistive effect
  • Biomedical properties
  • High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS)
  • Sensor applications
  • Electronic and optoelectronic device applications

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 6002 KiB  
Article
Effect of sp3 Content on Adhesion and Tribological Properties of Non-Hydrogenated DLC Films
by Chao Li, Lei Huang and Juntang Yuan
Materials 2020, 13(8), 1911; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13081911 - 18 Apr 2020
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 3601
Abstract
Non-hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with various ratios of sp3/sp2 were prepared on cemented carbide YG8 with DC magnetron sputtering technology. A pure graphite target was selected as the carbon source. Before DLC deposition, a surface etching pretreatment was carried [...] Read more.
Non-hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with various ratios of sp3/sp2 were prepared on cemented carbide YG8 with DC magnetron sputtering technology. A pure graphite target was selected as the carbon source. Before DLC deposition, a surface etching pretreatment was carried out by mid-frequency magnetron sputtering method, using Ti atoms to improve adhesion strength. The ratios of sp3/sp2 were adjusted by bias voltages. In order to investigate the effect of the ratio of sp3/sp2 on adhesion and tribological properties, Raman spectra, XPS spectra, adhesion scratch test and ball-on-disk dry friction tests were applied. The results indicated that the ratio of sp3/sp2 fluctuated with bias voltage, increasing in the range of 0.74 to 0.98. The adhesion strength decreased from 31.5 to 18.4 N with the increasing ratio of sp3/sp2, while the friction coefficient rose in DLC-Si3N4 and dropped in DLC-Ti6Al4V. For DLC-Ti6Al4V, the oxidation of Ti6Al4V had a greater influence than graphitization of DLC. The hard oxides of Ti6Al4V broke the graphite transfer layer leading to a high friction coefficient. The wear rate was approximately linearly related to bias voltage. The coefficients of the linear regression equation were influenced by different friction materials. The adhesion strength and the friction coefficient were fitted as a function of the ratio of sp3/sp2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films)
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11 pages, 2118 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Hydrogenated Diamond-Like Carbon (HDLC) Nanocomposite Films with Metal (Ag, Cu) Nanoparticles
by Loukas Koutsokeras, Marios Constantinou, Petros Nikolaou, Georgios Constantinides and Pantelis Kelires
Materials 2020, 13(7), 1753; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13071753 - 9 Apr 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2383
Abstract
In this work, the synthesis and characterization of hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (HDLC) nanocomposite thin films with embedded metallic Ag and Cu nanoparticles (NPs) are studied. These nanocomposite films were deposited using a hybrid technique with independent control over the carbon and metal sources. [...] Read more.
In this work, the synthesis and characterization of hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (HDLC) nanocomposite thin films with embedded metallic Ag and Cu nanoparticles (NPs) are studied. These nanocomposite films were deposited using a hybrid technique with independent control over the carbon and metal sources. The metallic nanoparticles were directly deposited from the gas phase, avoiding surface diffusion of metal species on the deposition surface. The structural features, surface topography and optical properties of pure and nanocomposite HDLC films are studied and the effect of metal introduction into the carbon matrix is discussed. The interactions between the carbon ion beam and the NPs are considered and it is demonstrated that the nanocomposite HDLC:metal films, especially for Cu NPs, can retain the transparency level of the pure HDLC, by limiting the interactions between metal and carbon during deposition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films)
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15 pages, 3842 KiB  
Article
Refinement of Sustainable Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT) with Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon Films (a-C:H) Revealing Film Instabilities Influenced by a Thickness-Dependent Change of sp2/sp3 Ratio
by Torben Schlebrowski, Halima Acharchi, Barbara Hahn, Stefan Wehner and Christian B. Fischer
Materials 2020, 13(5), 1077; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13051077 - 28 Feb 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2698
Abstract
The increasing use of polymers is related to a growing disposal problem. Switching to biodegradable polymers such as polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) is a feasible possibility, but after industrial production of commercially available material PBAT is not suitable for every application. Therefore, surface [...] Read more.
The increasing use of polymers is related to a growing disposal problem. Switching to biodegradable polymers such as polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) is a feasible possibility, but after industrial production of commercially available material PBAT is not suitable for every application. Therefore, surface refinements with amorphous hydrogenated carbon films (a-C:H) produced by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) changing the top layer characteristics are used. Here, 50 µm-thick PBAT films are coated with a-C:H layers up to 500 nm in 50 nm steps. The top surface sp2/sp3 bonding ratios are analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) both synchrotron-based. In addition, measurements using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFT) were performed for detailed chemical composition. Surface topography was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the surface wettability by contact angle measurements. With increasing a-C:H layer thickness not only does the topography change but also the sp2 to sp3 ratio, which in combination indicates internal stress-induced phenomena. The results obtained provide a more detailed understanding of the mostly inorganic a-C:H coatings on the biodegradable organic polymer PBAT via in situ growth and stepwise height-dependent analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films)
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Graphical abstract

13 pages, 4221 KiB  
Article
A Strategy for Alleviating Micro Arcing during HiPIMS Deposition of DLC Coatings
by Catalin Vitelaru, Anca Constantina Parau, Lidia Ruxandra Constantin, Adrian Emil Kiss, Alina Vladescu, Arcadie Sobetkii and Tomas Kubart
Materials 2020, 13(5), 1038; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13051038 - 26 Feb 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3138
Abstract
In this work, we investigate the use of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) for the deposition of micrometer thick diamond like carbon (DLC) coatings on Si and steel substrates. The adhesion on both types of substrates is ensured with a simple Ti [...] Read more.
In this work, we investigate the use of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) for the deposition of micrometer thick diamond like carbon (DLC) coatings on Si and steel substrates. The adhesion on both types of substrates is ensured with a simple Ti interlayer, while the energy of impinging ions is adjusted by using RF (Radio Frequency) biasing on the substrate at −100 V DC self-bias. Addition of acetylene to the working Ar+Ne atmosphere is investigated as an alternative to Ar sputtering, to improve process stability and coatings quality. Peak current is maintained constant, providing reliable comparison between different deposition conditions used in this study. The main advantages of adding acetylene to the Ar+Ne gas mixture are an increase of deposition rate by a factor of 2, when comparing to the Ar+Ne process. Moreover, a decrease of the number of surface defects, from ~40% surface defects coverage to ~1% is obtained, due to reduced arcing. The mechanical and tribological properties of the deposited DLC films remain comparable for all investigated gas compositions. Nanoindentation hardness of all coatings is in the range of 25 to 30 GPa, friction coefficient is between 0.05 and 0.1 and wear rate is in the range of 0.47 to 0.77 × 10−6 mm3 N−1m−1. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films)
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15 pages, 5512 KiB  
Article
Diamond Like Carbon Films Containing Si: Structure and Nonlinear Optical Properties
by Šarūnas Meškinis, Andrius Vasiliauskas, Mindaugas Andrulevičius, Domantas Peckus, Sigitas Tamulevičius and Karolis Viskontas
Materials 2020, 13(4), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13041003 - 23 Feb 2020
Cited by 86 | Viewed by 9868
Abstract
In the present research diamond-like carbon (DLC) films containing 4–29 at.% of silicon were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering of carbon target. Study by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the presence of Si–C bonds in the films. Nevertheless, a significant amount of Si–O–C and [...] Read more.
In the present research diamond-like carbon (DLC) films containing 4–29 at.% of silicon were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering of carbon target. Study by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the presence of Si–C bonds in the films. Nevertheless, a significant amount of Si–O–C and Si–Ox bonds was present too. The shape of the Raman scattering spectra of all studied diamond-like carbon containing silicon (DLC:Si) films was typical for diamond-like carbon. However, some peculiarities related to silicon doping were found. Studies on the dependence of DLC:Si of the optical transmittance spectra on the Si atomic concentration have shown that doping by silicon affects linear, as well as nonlinear, optical properties of the films. It is shown that the normalized reflectance of DLC:Si films decreased with the increased exciting light fluence. No clear relation between the normalized reflectance and photoexcited charge carrier relaxation time was found. It was suggested that that the normalized reflectance decrease with fluence can be related to nonlinear optical properties of the hydrogenated diamond-like carbon phase in DLC:Si film. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films)
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12 pages, 5298 KiB  
Article
Hydrogen-Free Diamond Like Carbon Films with Embedded Cu Nanoparticles: Structure, Composition and Reverse Saturable Absorption Effect
by Šarūnas Meškinis, Andrius Vasiliauskas, Karolis Viskontas, Mindaugas Andrulevičius, Asta Guobienė and Sigitas Tamulevičius
Materials 2020, 13(3), 760; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030760 - 7 Feb 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2802
Abstract
In the present research, hydrogen-free diamond like carbon films with embedded copper nanoparticles (DLC:Cu) were grown by simultaneous DC magnetron sputtering of the graphite and copper targets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to define the composition of the samples. Atomic force microscopy studies [...] Read more.
In the present research, hydrogen-free diamond like carbon films with embedded copper nanoparticles (DLC:Cu) were grown by simultaneous DC magnetron sputtering of the graphite and copper targets. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to define the composition of the samples. Atomic force microscopy studies of diamond, like carbon films containing different amount of copper, revealed wide range of the surface morphologies as well as sizes and shapes of the embedded copper nanoclusters. Raman scattering spectra of all the DLC:Cu films investigated were typical for diamond-like carbon (including samples containing more than 60 at.% of copper). sp3/sp2 carbon bond ratio in the films decreased with the increase of the Cu amount in the films. According to the optical absorbance measurements, the surface plasmon resonance related absorption peak of DLC:Cu films was only detected in the films containing 28.45 at.% Cu. For the diamond like carbon films containing more than 40 at.% Cu, a further increase of Cu amount in the nanocomposite resulted in minor changes of the absorbance spectra. Some correlation between the changes of the samples surface morphology as well as phase structure and optical absorbance spectra of the films was found. In all cases, reverse-saturable absorption of the DLC:Cu films was observed. For some DLC:Cu films damage of the sample occurred at higher light fluences that can be related to the heating that is caused by the surface plasmon resonance effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films)
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15 pages, 5163 KiB  
Article
Two-Layer Nanocomposite TiC-Based Coatings Produced by a Combination of Pulsed Cathodic Arc Evaporation and Vacuum Electro-Spark Alloying
by Philipp Kiryukhantsev-Korneev, Alina Sytchenko, Alexander Sheveyko, Dmitry Moskovskikh and Stepan Vorotylo
Materials 2020, 13(3), 547; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030547 - 23 Jan 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2533
Abstract
A novel two-stage technology combining vacuum electro-spark alloying (VESA) and pulsed cathodic arc evaporation (PCAE) was approbated for the deposition of TiC-based coatings in inert (Ar) and reactive (C2H4) atmospheres. The deposition was carried out using a TiC-NiCr-Eu2 [...] Read more.
A novel two-stage technology combining vacuum electro-spark alloying (VESA) and pulsed cathodic arc evaporation (PCAE) was approbated for the deposition of TiC-based coatings in inert (Ar) and reactive (C2H4) atmospheres. The deposition was carried out using a TiC-NiCr-Eu2O3 electrode and 5140 steel substrates. Structural, elemental, and phase compositions of the deposited coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction. The mechanical properties of the coatings were measured by nanoindentation using a 4 mN load. The tribological properties of the coatings were measured using the pin-on-disc setup in air and in distilled water at a 5 N load. The experimental data suggest that VESA coatings are characterized by surface defects, a hardness of 12.2 GPa, and a friction coefficient of 0.4. To ensure good adhesion between the VESA coating and the upper layer containing diamond-like carbon (DLC), an intermediate layer was deposited by PCAE in the Ar atmosphere. The intermediate layer had a hardness of up to 31 GPa. The upper layer of the coating ensured a low and stable friction coefficient of 0.2 and high wear resistance due to the formation of an sp2–sp3 bound carbon phase. Multilayer TiC-based coating with the upper DLC layer, in addition to high tribological properties, was characterized by the lowest corrosion current density (12 μA/cm2). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Films)
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