MICROTRIBOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENT OF CARBON-FILM BY SILICON INCLUSION AND FLUORINATION

In an effort to improve film strength and promote adhesion to the substrate, we used an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma reactor to deposit carbon films including silicon from an ethylene and silane gas mixture onto silicon substrates. To decrease the atomic interaction between opposing surfaces, carbon surfaces and carbon surfaces including silicon were fluorinated by exposure to CF4 plasma. Silicon inclusion was found to drastically decrease the micro-wear. Moreover, fluorination decreases the surface energy, evaluated by the contact angle to water, and thus reduces microfriction and microwear on an atomic scale.