Thick, well-adhered, highly stressed tetrahedral amorphous carbon

Diamond-like carbon thin films have attractive optical, electronic and mechanical properties, which make them potentially useful for wide-ranging applications. Although a great deal of research has been conducted on the electronic properties of DLC films, their use in semiconducting applications has been limited. However, there is a growing market for the use of DLC films in mechanical applications. Non-hydrogenated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films deposited by cathodic arc are presently widely used for machining non-ferrous materials. Thin (sub 5 nm) ta-C films are presently being considered as protective overcoats for magnetic disks and heads. However, the most prominent commercial use of a-C films has been in shaving blades. In this paper, the challenges and solutions for the commercial development of ta-C films for mechanical applications are described.