Cathode Material Dependence on Macroscopic Process Properties in DLC Film Preparation using Filtered Cathodic Arc Deposition

Macroscopic process parameters of arc voltage, cathode erosion rate, droplet emission rate, ion current, and deposition rate were measured in T-shape filtered cathodic arc deposition using various kinds of carbon cathode materials. Strong correlation between deposition rate and ion current was found. When the ion current was higher, the deposition rate was higher. However, the higher cathode erosion rate did not always brought the higher ion current, and the droplet emission rate was mildly tended to increase as the ion current increased. As a comprehensive evaluation, the optimum cathode material in the present study was considered to be pure graphite. However, the materials of carbon graphite and that including Si hardly emitted the droplets, suggesting the future possibility of the development of droplet-free carbon cathode material.