Hard Carbon Films Synthesized By Atmospheric Pressure Filamentary Dielectric Barrier Discharge

To synthesize hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films, filamentary dielectric discharge (FDBD) is used to improve their mechanical properties compared to the films synthesized by glow dielectric barrier discharge (GDBD), which is generally used for atmospheric pressure-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The discharge form transitioned from GDBD to FDBD when the gap between the electrodes is increased from 1 to 4 mm. The hardness of the films increased from 3.7 to 11.9 GPa by using FDBD. The results indicate that hard a-C:H films can be synthesized at room temperature by atmospheric pressure using FDBD.