Plasma synthesis of hard materials with energetic ions

Recent developments in plasma synthesis of hard materials using metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition are described. We have produced and characterized a variety of films including doped and undoped DLC (diamond-like carbon) and metal carbides. By using multiple plasma sources operated either synchronously or asynchronously. different metal plasma species can be either blended or linked so as to form mixed-composition films or multilayer structures, and by control of the depositing ion energy, interfaces can be made sharp or graded and the film morphology and microstructure can be widely tailored. Plasma compositional uniformity is important to produce homogeneous films. and therefore effective mixing of plasma streams produced by the filtered cathodic vacuum arcs is very important. Specific systems described here include amorphic diamond, and TIG. We outline the deposition technique employed in this investigation, and summarize the results of the characterization of the films. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.