Nanocompósitos de carbono amorfo hidrogenado do tipo diamante com adição de nanopartículas de sílica

Abstract

In this work, we performed an investigative and comparative study of pure DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) thin films and nanocomposite DLC films (modified with nanoparticles addition). This comparison was executed from the possible modifications in the mechanical, chemical and structural properties of the deposited films, such as: thickness, deposition rate, hardness, modulus of elasticity, stress, chemical bonds, structure and wear resistance. The technique used for deposition of films is known as PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition), assisted by RF-radio frequency. In particular, films of amorphous a-C:H amorphous carbon on the silicon were deposited from a liquid precursor (heptane-C7H16) as the carbon source. After optimization of this deposition process, the silica nanoparticles were added together with the liquid precursor, and nanocomposite a-C:H films were obtained after deposition. Some techniques of characterization were necessary for the investigation of the properties of the films as well as to verify the presence of the nanoparticles present in them, such as: profilometry, nanoindentation, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and other techniques.