Rubio-Roy M., Portal S., Polo M.C., Pascual E., Bertran E., Andújar J.L.
Universitat de Barcelona, ES
Keywords: amorphous carbon, hydrophobicity, nanotribology, PECVD, surface energy
Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a C:H) films are good candidates for biomedical applications, requiring smooth surfaces, biocompatibility and singular tribological characteristics. The addition of elements to a C:H films, such as oxygen, silicon, fluorine or metals, may greatly modify the initial properties (stress, hardness, wear, surface energy, friction, biocompatibility or bulk electrical and optical properties). Therefore, they are of interest for applications like protective and biocompatible coatings (e.g. for biomedical sensors and tools) and also for antisticking surfaces, low friction surfaces, self-cleaning surfaces or low layers. Our goal is to study in detail the effects of the incorporation of fluorine to amorphous carbon (a C:H:F) thin films on their tribological properties. C F bonds have shown to have, as already reported, a significant effect on diminishing surface energy. However, this is not the only effect, as the incorporation also changes other film properties (mainly friction and wear). In this work we study these effects for a C:H:F films deposited by pulsed DC plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD).
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Nanotechnology 2008: Materials, Fabrication, Particles, and Characterization – Technical Proceedings of the 2008 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 1
Published: June 1, 2008
Pages: 479 - 482
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Coatings, Surfaces & Membranes
ISBN: 978-1-4200-8503-7