Tribological properties of diamond-like carbon film prepared by low energy ion beam assisted deposition with a single ion source

The amorphous carbon film was prepared through the low-energy ion-beam-assisted-deposition with a single ion source, and the Raman spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy were used to investigate its structure which is proved to be of DLC. It was found that (1) most of the bonds formed in the film are of graphite bonds (sp 2) and the film contains less hydrogen, hence the properties of the film are similar to that of graphite i.e. the film has good tribological performance; (2) the friction coefficient, the life-time and the microhardness of the film all increase as the ion energy and the beam current increase. the results show that the DLC film has great potential in the application of magnetic recording system as a wear-resistant protecting film.